2 Peter 3:7-9
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Judgment is coming.  We move forward toward the very end of this earth as we know it.  We move toward Christ’s return and the tribulation and the final day of judgment where souls go to their ultimate destination for all of eternity.  But sometimes the crawl of time seems slow to us.  We get impatient waiting and waiting.  For all these centuries, believers have hoped for that day.  But God does not feel the same time crunch that we do.  God sets the pace.  He is in control.  And He knows when that day will come.  The delay is not evidence of any unfaithfulness on His part, but simply because He is working things out in His own timing.

It is just one more demonstration of God’s mercy that He patiently waits for those who would be saved to be saved.  He gives a portion of time for sinful people to repent and to know Him and therefore receive eternal life rather than face eternal death.  What if He had returned the day before we had gotten saved?  For all of eternity, we would have wished for one more day.  So let us be patient for His return, even as we long for it.  And in the meantime, let’s be about His work so that others can get to that place of repentance and acceptance of Jesus as their Savior.

[What if Jesus had returned the day before I’d gotten saved?  This thought struck me hard.  I’m not sure the exact day of my salvation.  I don’t know if I was really saved when I bowed my knees as a child and repeated a prayer.  But there was a day after that where I knelt and prayed with more understanding of who Jesus is and why I need Him so much.  It’s not lost on me that I could have been lost forever, really and truly lost.  So I’m glad He is patient.  I’m glad He waited for me.  But He won’t wait forever.  So please don’t wait if you haven’t called upon Jesus as your Lord and Savior.]