– Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

The Lord," said the apostle Peter 2,000 years ago in a famous verse of Scripture, "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). The English Standard Version says God is "patient toward you." Unlike most of us, God is in no hurry! In the context surrounding this familiar verse Peter makes clear what God is in no hurry to do – He is no hurry to bring judgment against people who have not repented, thus consigning them to hell. God would urge all who are outside His will and separated from Him by sin, to hurry up and repent, that is, turn their lives around and obey His will. There is a story about a preacher who was known for his poise under pressure. One day a close friend saw him pacing back and forth, pondering a problem. "What’s the trouble?" the friend asked. The preacher replied, "The trouble is I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!" God is not in a hurry. We truly live in a hurried world today where many people (and plenty of professed Christians among them) are too busy to take time to be holy. We have fast cars, fast phones, fast computers, and fast internet service. We drive fast and live fast lives. We want fast food – whether at McDonald’s or at church (as in fast, short sermons). We like fast service, whether in line at the bank, the grocery store, the local Walmart, the doctor’s office, or waiting to board a plane! But as someone noted, "Everyone who lined up 30 minutes early to board the plane is gonna be so mad when we all land at the same time." Have you ever been passed on the highway at a break-neck pace by some speed-demon who is on his / her way to who knows where? They fly by you until, just a few seconds later, you pull up behind them at a stop sign or traffic light turned red! In today’s sprint-paced world of smartphones, on- demand video, next or even same-day delivery, microwaveable meals, and instant-everything, we are very impatient with the notion of waiting and being patient! Why wait? We want patience – and we want it now! The result is a hyper-impatient culture where millions of people have a "short-fuse."

We may be in a hurry, but God is not. Caution: there is a constant temptation to re-create God in our own image. Since we are in a hurry and since we are impatient and just can’t hardly stand to wait on anything or anybody these days, we can easily come to mistake God’s (seeming) slowness at making good on His promises as slackness and inability to do so. The verse quoted above at 2 Peter 3:9 is in a context where some in the first century were doubting God is really coming in a "day of judgment" to punish the ungodly (verse 7). But Peter warns God’s people not to mistake and misinterpret God’s long delay in coming in judgment as meaning He has reneged on His long-standing promise to do just that. Some may demand that God perform on their own self-devised timetable. But Peter will have none of it. When it comes to judgment, God is the unhurried God. He is in no eager rush to condemn lost people to hell. In love and compassion and concern He waits...and waits...and waits for lost people to repent. But He won’t wait forever, for "the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night" (verse 10). Are you away from God? He patiently waits on you to come. Why not hurry to Him now? Think about it.

       – Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN