But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV).
Dear God, our Heavenly Parent, we look to You today in hope, not despair,”for [we] know the thoughts that [You] think toward us . . . “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give [us] a future and a hope.” Please bring this to pass we pray, according to Your perfect will. This we ask in the only name that brings salvation, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen!
Yesterday we began a study on the second coming of Jesus Christ. The major considerations of our study were: Jesus will come again! The apparent delay in His coming, and, Are we ready for His coming? Today we are going to spend some time looking a little deeper into the two last portions: The apparent delay, and our being ready. We will do this aided by the Holy Spirit in answering the question: What if it were today?
Is there a delay in Jesus coming? I am sure that there are several different answers to this question. We have a saying in Spanish, “Cada cabeza es un mundo” (Every head is a world). So in our world of experiences which is in most cases vastly different to the world of experiences of another individual, we will most likely answer this question from our individual perspective.
To the person who does not believe that Jesus is coming back, there is no feeling of delay, because there is no expectation. They are living for the here and now. But if that person had been a believer in the second coming of Christ, the feeling of delay might have been replaced with feelings of anger and disappointment, frustration, and finally, disbelief.
In the days of the apostle Peter many had grown weary from waiting and had decided to go back to their former way of life. In the same chapter from which our Scripture is taken these individuals are referred to as “scoffers” (3). Paul faced the same dilemma in his dealings with the church at Thessalonica. We find these words in his first letter to the Thessalonians:
“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5: 1-8. Emphasis provided).
There may be many individuals in our day who fall into this category. A word to you dear ones: It is not time to turn back. We are too close to the kingdom to start the journey back into the world. Under inspiration the apostle Peter reminds us that “God is not slack concerning His promises” He wants to save as many as have the desire to be saved. It is His patient love that many interpret as delay.
What if it were today that Jesus should return? Would you be ready? His Word says that He does not desire that any should perish, but that all should repent! May God help us to recognize His love in what we consider delay, and may we use this time to tell as many as we can of the unconditional love of the Savior who will return “in the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4).
I thought is was a good idea to close our devotional using The Message Bible’s version of our Scripture for today: “Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.
Do you hear the love of God? By His grace, please say “yes” to the Savior today!