3:1 This is now, my dear friends, my second letter to you. In both of them, I have tried to inspire you to a sincere and pure way of thinking by reminding you of what you already know. 2 Remember the words spoken earlier by God’s holy prophets and the commandment that our Lord and Savior gave to you through your emissaries 3 Above all, be sure to remember that in the last days [1] mockers will come, following their own desires and taunting you, 4 saying, “So what happened to the promised second coming of Jesus? For everything keeps going just the way it has since our ancestors fell asleep in death; since the beginning of creation, nothing’s changed.”
5 When they make fun of you, it’s as if the scoffers are deliberately forgetting that long ago when God spoke the word, the heavens came into existence and the earth formed from water and by water. 6 The waters later flooded and destroyed that world. 7 By that same word, the heavens and earth we see now are being reserved for destruction by fire, preserved until the time comes for the godless on the day of judgment.
8 Don’t imagine, dear friends, that God’s timetable is the same as ours; as the psalm says, for with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. Now the Lord is not slow about enacting His promise—slow is how some people want to characterize it—no, He is not slow but patient and merciful to you, not wanting anyone to be destroyed, but wanting everyone to turn away from following his own path and to turn toward God’s. [2]

Apparently, there was a contingent in the church at that time that was skeptical that Jesus would return. It had been 40 years or so since Jesus had left the earth; clearly, since Jesus had not returned already, he wasn’t going to.

Peter uses two events from history – creation and the flood – to note the obvious: significant changes happen. The people before the Flood were skeptical too, and yet it happened. They assumed that if it didn’t happen when they expected it to happen, it wasn’t going to happen.

Turns out that God’s idea of timing is different from ours. Who knew? Peter reminds his audience that God is faithful to keep his word. Just because a future expectation does not happen in our timing or in our way does not mean God is absent, forgetful, or slow.

In fact, the time between the fulfillment and the promise may be far more crucial than we realize.

I am going to suggest this morning that there’s a reason God makes His people wait for the fulfillment of His plans for them or for the world. The passage of time offers two important things: maturity and opportunity.

MATURITY

A couple examples come to mind from the Bible.

The life of Joseph is one of my favorites. (He dreamed of ruling; it was decades until he was a ruler.)
Jesus waited until he was +-30 to start his ministry. What happened during this time? He “increased in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)
The apostle Paul trained for 10 years after conversion before moving into ministry

These are not wasted years in God’s economy. I suspect that God uses time to give us time to mature into a particular kind of person who is ready for whatever place he is moving us into.

A couple things to clarify.

I don’t mean that every delay or every time of waiting is because we are too immature. Sometimes we long for good things that we don’t get due to things entirely unrelated to us.
I don’t mean we are being punished for not being ready when there is time between where we are and where God is taking us. Peter does not associate a time of waiting with punishment. A good coach doesn’t keep a kid on JV to punish them; it’s because they aren’t ready, and the coach wants them to succeed.
Those times between where we are now and where God is taking us are times that God allows for us to grow in maturity and look for opportunity.

I’ve had a lot of conversations with people over the years about their frustration of ‘spinning their wheels’ in a dead-end job, or having this restlessness that they aren’t where they are supposed to be. My typical response was this: “How are you doing with what’s in front of you?”

“I think I’m called to missions.” How is your witness with your family? Are you talking with your co-workers about Jesus? Are you studying the Bible and missionaries?
“I think I’m supposed to work with kids, but I’m stuck at a desk job.” Do you volunteer at church? Do you read and study about working with kids?
“I want to be a social worker, not work at a restaurant.” What are you reading and studying right now? How is your heart for your co-workers who are in need? Are you getting used to having your heart, time, and energy wrung out for others? What does the Bible have to say about issues a social worker will face?
“I want to own a business instead of working for someone else.” What are you learning from the business you are working for? What are you reading and studying about business? What are biblical ethics for business?
“I’m thinking of getting into church ministry some day.” Are you diving deep into the study of Scripture? Are you getting mentored by someone in ministry? Are you staying caught up with church trends? What’s your accountability look like?

This time is opportunity to grow. It's a time to see who you are in the midst of frustration and adversity. Those times are sure to follow if you reach the goals you have set. It might be worth finding out now who you will be in those moments. Waiting gives you time to purposefully mature.

New thought: I wonder if sometimes our questioning of God’s timing or our perception that God is not as involved as He should be in moving us out of the situation right here in front of us is an avoidance of ourselves. We want a quick fix that let’s us avoid the reality of who we are.

“I’m ready for the next thing God has for me! Why isn’t it here yet?” Consider the possibility you would break that next thing because you aren’t ready? Then the best gift God can give you is time to mature so that when you get that other good thing, it flourishes. When we put carpet in our house, the first question we got was, “Do you have kids?” Yes. “Then you want the cheaper carpet. Your house isn’t ready for the expensive one.” When our household was mature, it was ready for new flooring.
“I’ve known from the time I was young I was supposed to be a (fill in the blank). Why isn’t this happening?” Consider the possibility that you aren’t ready. Your anger is going to get in the way. The way in which you so easily take offense is not going to end well in that position. Your inability to know when to stop talking and start listening is going to undermine your work. Remember: waiting gives us time to purposefully mature.
Me, years ago: “I am ready to be a traveling apologist!” Friend: “Are you, though?” Me: “Yes, but nothing seems to be opening up. In fact, there’s these other doors that keep opening….” Friend: “Huh.”

“Bloom where you are planted,” the saying goes. Maybe it’s just an opportunity to be a beautiful representation of Jesus in a place that is not your home. You may actually find out that you were always meant to bloom right where you are. You may find that a couple years of growth makes you a much healthier transplant. I don’t know. I just know one thing we can do while we wait: we can grow.

OPPORTUNITY

As Peter saw it, the years God gave the world were an opportunity for more people to become followers of Jesus. We see this other places in Scripture as well.

'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, But rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways!" (Ezekiel 33:11; Ezekiel 18:23)
I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord GOD. "Therefore, repent and live.” (Ezekiel 33:32)
“[God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1Timothy 2:4)

Every extra day is a gift, one more day to spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s one more day to be image bearers and a temples that points the world toward Jesus. It’s one more day to serve God’s desire that all be saved. Spurgeon once wrote,

“While I have prayed, ‘Come quickly,’ I have often felt in¬clined to contradict myself and cry, ‘Yet tarry for a while, good Lord. Let mercy's day be length¬ened.’”

I think that’s a fantastic mindset for a Christian. Joseph Parker, a Congregationalist minister who was a friend of Spurgeon’s, put it this way (and this a lot…stay with me):

“The Lord does not look upon the earth saying, Let them do what they please, it is of no consequence to me… riot as they may, slay one another and break the commandments as they may; all the waves of their tumult cannot dash even against the foot of my throne.” No such speech does divine love make. The Lord spares the sinner because he wants to save him. "Longsuffering" [means that God] will suffer another day, if thereby he may save the soul; he will suffer another century, if thereby he can move the earth but one inch nearer heaven.
Where do we ever give one another credit for great motives? What wonder then that we should withhold the ascription of great motives to God? If one amongst ourselves does anything great, we instantly ascribe a [bad] motive to him: we say… “he is giving that he may be seen to give, he is praying that he may be heard to pray; he is his own trumpeter…” What wonder then that men who thus ascribe poor, shallow, vicious motives to one another, even in the matter of prayer, should treat the court of heaven with contempt, and tell God to his face that he is slow?
The true meaning is, not that he is slow in the sense of moral indifference, but that he is longsuffering in the sense of fatherly patience. Ignorance is hasty; All [God’s] incompleteness is [desire at rest]. Change the point and view and say, “The Lord spares the sinner, not for want of resources, but through longsuffering”… The Lord is very pitiful and kind, plenteous in mercy and in patience, yea, his mercy endureth for ever, and he continually says,” I have no pleasure in the death of the sinner: I would that the wicked might turn from his way.”
The Living One has pleasure in life: in death he finds no pleasure. We think that sin should be met by instantaneous punishment. That is our little cleverness. The Lord says,” I will meet it with longsuffering.” The Lord says, “I will delay the stroke in the hope that the offender may begin to pray…”.
The Lord is keeping up the heavens and the earth that he may save the lost sinner. He keeps the firmament in its place, and all the stars in their courses for another century, that the last obstinate heart may be touched, may surrender its arms, and may turn its rebellion into praise.” (The People's Bible by Joseph Parker)

Here is what has lingered with me.

If this is God’s disposition, is it my disposition? Just how much does my heart long for the repentance and restoration of everyone around me?

If God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, if God does not want anyone to be destroyed, if God desires that all would come to him, if God keeps the firmament in place and the stars in their course out of mercy for the lost….

How do I, as an icon of God in the world, lead to that when people click on me?

I never desire death as a solution for evil.
I find no pleasure in the death of the wicked; I don’t cheer the eternal loss of an eternal soul. I may rejoice that a doer of evil can no longer do that evil, but I don’t rejoice over death because an eternal fate has been sealed. That’s cause for mourning.
I long for the delay of Christ’s return even as I long for a New Heaven and New Earth where creation no longer groans in pain as it waits.
I commit myself to ‘longsuffering’: a patient, loving, hopeful, faithful presence in world that is so often none of those things. I, too, as a follower of Jesus, don’t want anyone to be far from him. Am I willing to take upon myself the heart of Jesus for everyone in the world?

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FOOTNOTES

[1] The time between Jesus’ first and second coming – see Acts 2:17. Also, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

[2] “Unless God’s will is viewed on the two planes of his desiderative and decretive will (what he desires and what he decrees), hopeless confusion will result. The scriptures amply illustrate both that God sometimes decrees things that he does not desire and desires things that he does not decree.” (NET Bible)

“Not wishing” has reference to God's disposition or His nature rather than to a specific act or plan. It is not God’s considered will that any should perish… While it is His considered will (standing wish or desire) that no one should be lost, yet in making man in His image He necessarily had to make him a free moral agent, with a will which is able to say “yes” and “no” to Him. While God is always willing to save man, man is not always willing to be saved…. God's "wishing" here does not express a decree (determining will), as if God has willed everyone to be saved… those words describe God’s standing wish or desire which is that He longs that all would be saved (1Ti 2:4) but knows that many reject Him, again leaving open the possibility of human freedom of choice. (preceptaustin.org. https://www.preceptaustin.org/2_peter_39-10)