Waiting… And More Waiting
Veronica Burlock, Worship Pastor, Wheaton | August 16, 2023
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as
a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2 Peter 3:8
Take a second and read the verse above for a second time and maybe a third and let’s unpack this together. I noticed that Peter is warning us because he is aware how easy it is to skip over this very important concept.
Notice the word “fact,” meaning truth or reality—not an opinion. Then the word “beloved” as if he’s trying to soften the news because he knows what comes next is tough to grasp. “That with the Lord” because God sits outside of time. He’s not bound to time—he made time. “One day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.”
Does anyone feel like they’ve been waiting a thousand years for some things? Waiting is such an easy concept to understand but such a hard thing to live out. I had a great conversation with a profound woman a couple of months ago and she asked me this… “You ever meet anyone who waits on God with ease and wonder, how do they do that?” I left that conversation thinking through our conversation which led to me wrestle with my thoughts… to wrestle with God. Here’s what I came to see, I know that I can trust God’s promises. He said he will never leave me or forsake me (Duet. 31:8).
Psalm 34;17 says the righteous cry out, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. Waiting on God feels like being ignored by God or even forgotten but that is the lie of the enemy. God is near. Right now. With you. God makes us wait to develop us, grow our faith, and grow our relationship with Him. Not to be cruel. It is in God’s kindness that he gives us his perfect timing. He can see the whole picture, the beginning, the end and everything in between. Trust Him in the waiting and rejoice that he is sovereign. Author Barbra Roose says “You know when you’re rushing ahead of God when you start to stress about the small details. How true is that? Are you stressing about anything currently? Romans 12:12 says, “Be joyful in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” because of who God is. He is in control, and he knows what He’s doing so we can rest in the waiting.
Next Steps
Are you waiting on God for something? Does your heart want to trust that He has something good for you in it but you are having trouble doing so? If that is the case, try speaking out loud to Him, “I trust You, God,” whenever you feel uneasy. Faith comes by hearing—so let your ears and your Father hear your heart!