On God's Time
Read 2 Peter 3:8-9.
I'm not a big fan of waiting. I think I get that from my dad, who never wants to wait (especially in a doctor's office). I like to see results, and I like to see them as quickly as possible. Last night, for instance, we had a brief but powerful storm come through our neighborhood which did a lot of damage. We lost our basketball goal (there goes my hopes for a career in the NBA!) and as I was looking around for other possible damage, I heard a sizzling. Actually, Hershey (our mutt) heard it first. When I began to investigate, I discovered the source: a power line and a tree were not getting along so well. In fact, I could see sparks and flames—the power line had set the tree on fire.
Now, it wasn't a big fire and it wasn't getting bigger, but nevertheless, fire that close to my house did not make me comfortable. So I called the energy company, and of course they were busy. So I called the fire department, who came out and said, "It'll have to be the energy company who handles that. We've called them. They'll get to it." They also assured me we were in no imminent danger. So I paced and I waited and I paced and I waited. Did they not know how dangerous this was? And that it was at MY HOUSE? Why had they not responded right away? Oh, sure, there were probably others with problems that needed to be addressed...but did I mention that I hate to wait?
Peter says whether we like it or not, waiting is part of life. We live on God's time, and to the Lord, he says, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. In other words, God's "time" doesn't work like ours. It's not that God is intentionally waiting (though we know Jesus did do that in John 11), and it's not that God is putting us off. It's just that God sees time and eternity differently than we do. He sees a bigger picture than we ever could.
And Peter also helps us understand why God might seem to be slow: he's waiting for more to come to repentance. God's desire is for all to be saved, and so he waits and allows more to come to salvation. He is patient with them—and with us. The time we've been given, even the time we have to wait for this or that to come to pass, is meant to make us more like Jesus, to perhaps even help that same sort of patience grow in us. Because sometimes, when we're about to give up on waiting, the answer is just around the corner.
I learned that again last night. Just as I was about to call the energy company and "give them a piece of my mind," I looked outside once more and noticed the fire was out. The power had been cut and rerouted. Not on my timetable, but on the energy company's, and no damage was done. (Well, the tree might disagree, but it doesn't get a vote.)
Years and years ago, there was a popular chorus that reminds us of what Peter teaches. Over all these years this song still echoes in my heart:
I'm not a big fan of waiting. I think I get that from my dad, who never wants to wait (especially in a doctor's office). I like to see results, and I like to see them as quickly as possible. Last night, for instance, we had a brief but powerful storm come through our neighborhood which did a lot of damage. We lost our basketball goal (there goes my hopes for a career in the NBA!) and as I was looking around for other possible damage, I heard a sizzling. Actually, Hershey (our mutt) heard it first. When I began to investigate, I discovered the source: a power line and a tree were not getting along so well. In fact, I could see sparks and flames—the power line had set the tree on fire.
Now, it wasn't a big fire and it wasn't getting bigger, but nevertheless, fire that close to my house did not make me comfortable. So I called the energy company, and of course they were busy. So I called the fire department, who came out and said, "It'll have to be the energy company who handles that. We've called them. They'll get to it." They also assured me we were in no imminent danger. So I paced and I waited and I paced and I waited. Did they not know how dangerous this was? And that it was at MY HOUSE? Why had they not responded right away? Oh, sure, there were probably others with problems that needed to be addressed...but did I mention that I hate to wait?
Peter says whether we like it or not, waiting is part of life. We live on God's time, and to the Lord, he says, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. In other words, God's "time" doesn't work like ours. It's not that God is intentionally waiting (though we know Jesus did do that in John 11), and it's not that God is putting us off. It's just that God sees time and eternity differently than we do. He sees a bigger picture than we ever could.
And Peter also helps us understand why God might seem to be slow: he's waiting for more to come to repentance. God's desire is for all to be saved, and so he waits and allows more to come to salvation. He is patient with them—and with us. The time we've been given, even the time we have to wait for this or that to come to pass, is meant to make us more like Jesus, to perhaps even help that same sort of patience grow in us. Because sometimes, when we're about to give up on waiting, the answer is just around the corner.
I learned that again last night. Just as I was about to call the energy company and "give them a piece of my mind," I looked outside once more and noticed the fire was out. The power had been cut and rerouted. Not on my timetable, but on the energy company's, and no damage was done. (Well, the tree might disagree, but it doesn't get a vote.)
Years and years ago, there was a popular chorus that reminds us of what Peter teaches. Over all these years this song still echoes in my heart:
In his time, in his time,
He makes all things beautiful in his time!
Lord, please show me everyday
As you're teaching me your way
That you do just what you say
In your time.
You're impatient? Wow! I wouldn't have guessed that. Glad your house is ok.
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