Have you ever spent time praying for something that you had a strong desire for and it seemed God was nowhere to be found? Have you ever prayed for something that you really needed and it seemed God wasn't in any big hurry to answer? Maybe you're a single person and you're praying for a spouse. It seems like it could be a "hundred" years before God ever attempts to answer that prayer. Have any of you women that have ever experienced fertility issues prayed to God for a child and it seems he doesn't care? You're past the age of 35 and it seems like it's impossible that you will ever be able to conceive. Many Christians have requested something from God and it seems like he's not even listening or He's delaying his answer. In the book of Genesis we read where God had promised Abraham and Sarah that they would conceive a child. They didn't believe it because time had passed and they were of a ripe old age. Many times you would think God's trying to torment you or he's trying to play some type of game with you. One thing I know; God doesn't play games with his children. He loves them too much to do so. It's just that we can't foresee in the future. That's why it's so important to stay in the will of God. Because if we don't, we'll miss out on what God has for us in the future.
I was reading II Peter 3:9 this morning and it says, this, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." In this particular verse it's talking about God being merciful towards sinners when it comes to repentance. I will mention that a little later. However, man's concept and God's concept of slackness are two different things. When Christians pray to God, they expect an answer immediately or within a short frame of time. However, God's not bound to time. His perfect will doesn't revolve around man's timing. It's HIS timing that counts. We fail to recognize that. Jesus won't come back to rapture out the church until God the Father says it's time. God controls time! Time is at God's discretion--not ours! As I was reading that verse I was thinking of different areas where God's not slack that we probably would consider slackness. God's not slack about judgment, He's not slack about answering prayers, and He's not slack about His coming. It will all revolve around God's timetable. However, many of us are so impatient that we struggle with waiting on God. However, waiting on God will perfect us and through that process God can mold us and shape us into what we need to be, if we will allow him and not grow weary in well-doing.
What is slackness? Webster's Dictionary defines slack or slackness as slow, not busy, dull, or it could even be sluggish. However, God's not sluggish. It's just his timing doesn't coincide with man's timing. As I mentioned earlier, there are some areas in which God's not slack concerning his promises. The first one that I desire to mention is judgment. In Genesis 6:14-22 you read where God instructs Noah to build an ark because he was getting ready to destroy the world with a flood. Mankind's thoughts were continually on evil. Noah built the ark for 120 years. The ark that Noah was building was signifying judgment. Then after the ark was built God told Noah in Genesis 7:1 to bring himself and all his household into the ark. Genesis 7:10 states that after Noah and his family went inside the ark, he gave mankind upon the earth seven more days to repent. Then God finally shut the door. Once the door was shut, judgment was ready to fall. Did anyone repent during that time? No. Only Noah and his family were saved. However, God gave the world a chance to repent during the entire time the ark was being constructed as well as seven days following Noah and his family's entry into the ark. It would appear God was dragging things out. However, God was giving man a space of time to repent. God was long-suffering. He wan't to grant mankind every available opportunity to repent before judgment fell. Man sadly didn't heed and the world was destroyed with a flood.
In Genesis 12:7 God promised Abraham (Abram) that he would give unto thy seed this land." He promised Sarah and Abraham both a child. However, it wasn't until several chapters later in Genesis 21 that Isaac was born. Prior to that time Sarah and Abraham had struggled believing God because he didn't deliver in their timing. Abraham and Sarah were old when they had Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah 90 years. Naturally, under those circumstances it's impossible to conceive a child at an old age. Sarah even allowed Abram to conceive child through her handmaid Hagar, because they didn't trust God would give them a child. God had waited so long and it didn't seem like it was possible. However, science knows no limits to God. God operates in the supernatural. God's not limited by the natural realm.
As I mentioned earlier, II Peter 3:9 states that God's not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness. Verse 10 says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." Jesus is coming back. Jesus made that promise He's coming back to his disciples before he ascended into Heaven. Everywhere you read in the New Testament you read the Apostle Paul saying Jesus is coming and he'll come when least expected. The Apostle John says in Revelation 22:20 "He which testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." The apostles were looking for Jesus to come back before they died. Peter even said that Jesus would come quickly. The Apostles were fervent in their spreading the gospel. They believed if they didn't spread it then, then it would be too late. They expected Jesus' arrival then. They didn't believe there was tomorrow, unlike the saints do today. Since that time, approximately 2000 years has passed and Jesus hadn't come. It would seem God was lying when he said he would come quickly and suddenly. However, God's not slack about His coming. God's timetable doesn't match man's timetable. The Bible declares in II Peter 3:8 that one day is a thousand years to God. In the Lord's eyes, it's been 2 days since Jesus's ascension into Heaven. That's nothing to God. However, for man, it seems like eternity. Generations upon generations of mankind has come and gone. New civilizations have arisen and civilizations have been destroyed. But one thing is sure: Jesus is coming. He could come today. All the signs in this world is pointing to his near eminent return. We hear talk in the news of creating a global currency and a global government. That's a sign pointing Jesus is near ready to rapture his church out.
God's never slack about his promises. Man is slack when it comes to fulfilling God's will on this earth when it comes to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. However, God's right on time. As II Peter 3:8 declares, God's not bound by man's time. What seems to be an eternity to man is just a vapor to the Lord. God's promises are sure. They will come to pass! Only in God's timing!
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