Intro: During certain seasons in my life I have noticed I can experience two very different responses regarding my sense of time to the circumstances before me: 1) some things in life I treasure and greatly enjoy so I want to slow time down, and 2) some things in life are so difficult I want to speed up time because I am looking forward to better days ahead. I am sure with your experiences you have felt this way about life and time.
For example, our granddaughter, Amana, just turned one month old. With each day, she is much more responsive and aware of voices and sounds. She smiles and even giggles a bit. I love this progression of her development, but could we just slow things down a bit so we have more time to enjoy each day and celebrate every bit of her growth? I don’t want to miss anything! Conversely, there is that overwhelming desire within me for Jesus to come and rescue his Church from this world; today would be a great day and time to leave sin and evil permanently behind! Since I cannot control time, creation, or other people, I am going to do the wise thing of inviting God to guide me in making the best use of my time and days as I also honor his timeline and stand ready. I know God wants me to enjoy my life (John 16:24).
In our passage today, the Apostle Peter speaks to the Church. Peter reminds his readers about God’s timeline vs. humanity’s timeline. God is patient and he wants the world to repent and return to him as King, so God gives more time for this to take place. Conversely, God sees people heading further toward destruction: a self-centered worldview, false faith perspectives, as well as declining values and He knows many of his children are trying to live within the cultural storms, so God tells us to be ready because he may come back any moment. God is not slow, he is just watching for different things. Did it ever dawn on you that believers could hurry things along by allowing Christ to form us in greater godliness each day? God’s purpose for humanity is not destruction; rather his purpose is restoration and recreation in Christ.
2 Peter 3:8-13 8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment [everything will appear before the Judge].
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the reminder about your timeline from Peter today. Your timing is perfect and your grace is sufficient. Thank you for your plan to recreate a new world without sin. May all your children—believers far and near—press in for more of you and your beautiful and godly character, today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.