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.

Let us never be so proud as to think God is like us. God's clock is not our clock. His ways are not our ways. Let’s face it friend, you and I will never understand the way God works as long as we are on this earth. But let me also add, He has given us enough of His revelation to know as much about Him as He requires us to know.  "God is God and there is none like him and not one that will understand Him."  That is what he tells Job when Job tries to figure out His ways and His purposes. It is enough to cling to Him and let Hm work out the details in His timing.           

Peter is perplexed with the people that say, "See God isn't returning. He hasn't yet." Well one reason is that God looks at time differently than we do. What is long to us is short to Him. What is short to us can be long to Him. 1,000 years are as a day. Part of argument is from Scriptures Psalm 90:4 "For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night." He has eternal perspective. God is not limited to time. This is something of human limitation. God knows the beginning from the end. He is not bound by time.       

Friends, the very point of the Scriptures argument isn't a new understanding of interpreting God' ways, instead it is reminding us that to Him time means nothing. The point is simply that time is irrelevant to God. It was two thousand years before God fulfilled His promise to Abraham.  It was at least four or six thousand years before He fulfilled His promise to the serpent and the woman bearing seed. Since God kept His promise about the first coming of Christ, we can expect Him to fulfill the promise of His Son's return!           

Look at God's timetable with eternity in mind. How short-lived are our tears and suffering, how short-lived are our heartaches and our trials. When life is compared to a mist, a vapor quickly gone, we realize that God's coming may be very soon or it may be many thousands of years away. (Although I don't personally believe it would be that long, but it may.). We need humility. God can accomplish thousands of years of work in one day. 

 

But the greatest of all things we are to remember is why God waits and delays Christ's coming. It is because of His character of mercy and kindness. He does not want any to perish, but all to be saved. The years that He has given us are for the purpose of repentance, turning to God and to be used as tool for His glory in that purpose for others.           

Ezekial 33:11 "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye die? " I Timothy 2:4 says it this way "God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." The delay is meant to lead to repentance, not to unbelief. He died for your sin and does not want to see you perish.  Jesus is waiting for you to be saved, but there is coming a day when that door will be closed. If you haven’t yet, will you submit your life today? God desires for us to trust Him and look to Him in faith. He is coming again.

Application:  Are you ready for His return?

Prayer:   Lord Jesus, thank you for dieing on the cross for me.   I believe all the scriptures say and trust You to bring me to eternal Glory.   It is only  because of Your suffering, death and resurrection that I am able to have this eternal HOPE.