God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen Author Unknown
Lord, may it please you to rescue me; look upon me and help me. “The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. How many of you have that friend that is consistently late? You tell them to be at dinner, a party, event etc at a particular time. Intent on being on time, you pack, plan and work.You arrive on time and sit and wait, and wait, and wait for this friend to arrive. Your vacation or party wouldn’t be the same without him/her so you go with it. After you’ve been friends for a while, you realize this is their MO.
You get used to this behavior and even find it funny at times. You maintain your friendship because they are there for you when you need them in the middle of the night. They pick you up from that sketchy date you went on. They text you at just the right time wanting to know how you are doing. They cook you supper after your baby is born.
Simply put, they are there for you, and while they’re timing doesn’t always suit you, your life wouldn’t be the same without them. What do they do that makes them late I wonder? I know when I’m late for things, it’s because I’m frantically trying to get things ready. Maybe a last minute gift for the hostess, or a nice card, or directions on how to get to said party.
Whatever it is, it’s usually not for me. It’s for the person I’m going to meet! And for whatever reason, getting this around takes longer than I had anticipated.
Reading over this verse, I like to think that God is that friend. He is the life of the party, trustworthy, amazing, but seemingly late for everything. On that same thought, I think
God is “late” because He is getting something ready for us. He is preparing our hearts for THE DAY. We might be having a horrible day and think, “God are you seeing all of this? Where are you?” And I think He’s probably saying, “Yes, I see all this! I know it looks terrible! I’m working on getting you where you need to be in your life. Be.Patient.” God runs on God time-kind of like your always late friend has their own time(whatever that might be,I don’t know!) Once God gets to you, you’ll see what He has been working on.
When my husband and I moved from across the state, I had moved ahead of him since I found a job before he did. It was heartbreaking to leave him and our home with our baby in tow. He applied for it seemed a million jobs and each month that went by I became more and more sad. “We’re never going to be together! We really need some more money to make ends meet!” I remember him getting an interview and trying not to get my hopes up. He said it went well, and his potential boss drove across the state to meet him for a second interview. I still remember where I was when he called to tell me he got the job.
I think my heart stopped. I was so excited! He still works there today and we have been incredibly blessed by this opportunity. I truly think God knew what he was doing. We waited. We prayed. We cried. God delivered.
When you get impatient, think about what is being prepared-your heart. Your heart is being broken down and made better, stronger, and more holy with each situation that you encounter. As you are aware, we are not perfect. God has a lot of work to do on us and that is going to take time. When God arrives at the party, we’ll certainly have had lots of time to prep and plan. We will be ready.
Tonight-take a breath and wait. Be patient with the Lord and trust in His timing
To Jesus through Mary-Ashley
Image by Alyssa Marie Francis
