We love waiting, don’t we?
Probably not. Well, now that we have the world at our fingertips within the
confines of our phones to talk, chat, search, browse and play games, we admit
waiting isn’t as bad as it use to be. There are times when stopping to sit for
a while is somewhat nice. But, that’s if we have our phones with us at the
time.
There are many times of
waiting that test our patience such as running late and having to stop for a
red traffic light. Waiting for FedEx to get that package to your door. Waiting
for the commercials to be over so you can get back to enjoying your program.
The passing of time has its
lessons as well as its seasons and journeys. In regards to time, I can’t help
but think of the One who is the Master of all time. I am speaking of our
Heavenly Father.
As many of us know, 2 Peter 3:8, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is
like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” The Lord God
is not only the Master of time, but the Master of patience within the time He
allots for His will for each and every one of us.
When it comes to time, God
in His patience is also the Master of being able to wait patiently. For me. For
you. For all others. All for a very good reason. 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not
slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance.”
I wonder if we can fully
fathom this verse that tells us that God is delaying the return of His Son,
Jesus, for the purpose of giving everyone
every possible chance to hear the Gospel message and to turn from their
sinfulness and accept His offer of Salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Not until writing this
article, did I ever match the lesson of God’s patience within this verse of 2
Peter 3:9 with the story of Noah and
the flood in Genesis 6-9. Most
scholars would date the entire time it took to build the Ark to 120 years of
construction. That is a very long time to build a boat! I am sure Noah and the
construction site had become quite the tourist attraction for people to see.
That’s where I made the
connection. Have you ever wondered why it would be necessary for it to take
that long to build the Ark? God’s
patience! As Noah worked daily at his tasks, were many opportunities to
give testimony as to why the boat was being built and to “sound the alarm” of
the pending flood. Noah and his family remained faithful to the task (Genesis
6:9, 22) and completed the Ark.
Sadly, nobody really
listened to Noah or took the time that they were given to change their ways.
All, but Noah and his family, died in the flood. They had their chance. We are
being given our chance as well.
God gives us a certain
amount of time on earth to live and to learn about His wonderful plan He has
for us. He also can allow certain things to happen to use them as ways to
awaken us that we need God, His Son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit.
Just like the flood in
Noah’s day, we have events in our own lifetime such as World Wars, conflicts,
pandemics and terrorist attacks. Regardless of what it is, God can allow these
situations to make us realize the brevity of our earthly life and how sinful
humans can be without His divine intervention.
God loves us so much that He
will do whatever it takes to save you. He does not want you to live without
Him. 1 Timothy 2:3-4, “This is good, and pleases God our
Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth.”
In fact, like I said, He did
“whatever it took” to save you. He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to die for
us on the Cross so that we would not have to endure the penalty of eternal
death. We were never able to pay that price in the first place.
Jesus paid it for us. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life.” Not only did He pay the price, but He is very patient with giving
you plenty of time to understand that truth and to have a chance to respond to
this great news.
Here is an important lesson:
God gave us the freedom to choose. He hopes we will choose Him. He won’t force
us. He wants it to be totally up to us as it is our decision to make. He wishes
that everyone would choose Him. Ezekiel
18:23, “Do you think that I like to
see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them
to turn from their wicked ways and live.”
Sadly, many do not
acknowledge God and go on and live their life without Him. Some even choose to
live their lives with the belief that God doesn’t exist. The end result of
making this decision is that this is 100% their choice and not God’s. God’s
plan is for us to spend eternity in Heaven with Him.
God is Holy and He is just
and must deal with sin accordingly. So, those who reject Him, the just response
and penalty for that rejection is eternal separation in Hell apart from His
love and fellowship. That is why it is very sad to think that people could make
the choice to refuse God’s gift.
That is why God is so
incredibly patient. It is His hope (and our’s) that, in due time, these people
who first reject God would get to the point in their life that they truly
understand God’s love, change their minds and accept His offer of salvation. We
do pray that they would change their minds and hearts before it is too late.
However, just like in the
story of Noah and the Ark, the day finally came when the rains began and the
door to get inside the Ark was shut tight. Many people, I am sure, were
horrified and frightened to suddenly realize it was all true and it was now too
late.
Time is a precious gift that
cannot be “re-given” if it is wasted. Once it is gone, there is no going back. That is just a reality we need to deal with
right now. We should not “test the boundaries” and live our lives as if we
have “all the time in the world” to make our decision. We should never test
God’s patience that we have plenty of time and can “wait until some other day”
to tell others about Jesus. The time is now.
God is patient. In fact, God
is so patient that He is sometimes accused of being “slow” and inattentive. I
like how Peter addresses God’s patience by saying that “the Lord is not slow in
keeping His promise.” The Greek word for “slow” means that He is not
distracted, unconcerned, late, or forgetful.
Trust me, God knows exactly
what He is doing and the exact plan that He has in place for us all. By being
patient, God is giving you a chance! He is giving you an opportunity to
respond. He is offering you a loving relationship with Him. What is your
response? The time to decide is now while you have the opportunity. Tomorrow
could be too late.
Just like the doors of the
Ark shut, and it was too late….the day will come, when the skies fill with the
words of 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, “We tell you this directly from the Lord:
We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those
who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with
a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call
of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their
graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the
earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will
be with the Lord forever. So
encourage each other with these words.”
That prophesied moment will
happen. Jesus will return as promised. Millions will be ready and thousands
caught off guard. This is exactly why God is being patient and not allowing it
to happen just yet. He wants us to have the opportunity to make our decision.
Romans 10:13, “For everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved.” Our hope is that you will place your
faith in God’s grace, repent of your sins, and accept His Son, Jesus as your
Savior, today. Right now, while there is time.