September 24, 2023
Daily Devotion:
"God's Delay"
2 Peter 3:8-9
New International Version
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. 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.
Certain spiritual benefits can be gained only through waiting. For example, some of the early Christians felt frustrated by God’s delay. They had believed Jesus would return very soon in their lifetimes. But time was moving on, and none of the promises they expected to see fulfilled were coming to pass. In fact, Peter warned believers that mockers would say “all things continue just as they were” (2 Peter 3:4). He reminded the people that our perception of time differs from God’s.
For Him, decades and millennia pass like moments and days. Saying God is “slow” to keep His promise
suggests a serious misunderstanding. Not only is God not slow, Peter says, but what seems like slowness is actually God’s patience. Like the sourdough baker, God unhurriedly waits for something better—to see more people accept His gracious gift. We can wait patiently, too, if we understand that God’s delays always lead to something better than we can imagine.
