DEVOTION – DAY 155

2 Peter 3:7-8 “God’s Timing”

 

2 Peter 3:7-8 “By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

As the global Covid-19 pandemic drags on affecting many countries, many people wonder how long they have to wait before they are free from living in fear of infection. Here in Malaysia, in addition, we also wonder how much longer the people have to suffer under a corrupt and incompetent government that is lacking in leadership to lead the country through the Covid-19 pandemic. 2 Peter 3:7-8 tells us that God will judge the ungodly one day. We do not know when that day will be but God’s judgment will happen. Theses verses also remind us that in God’s eyes, time is relative. God does not view time as people do. God stands outside of time. So, when time is seen in the perspective of eternity, an age appears no more than a single day. To God, a thousand years is like a single day. What is important to God is that He may use disasters like the Covid-19 pandemic to bring people to their knees and cause them to realize how much they need Him. So, God in His wisdom has delayed judgment to give people the chance to turn from their evil ways, repent and believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

In 1876, Dr. E W Clark and his wife arrived in North East India as missionaries. They planned to share the gospel to the local people in the highland region of Nagaland. The local people practiced head hunting and were animists. They had a deep mistrust for anyone that resembled the British military. Dr. E W Clark and his wife however had a deep burden for the people of Nagaland. They knew that the work ahead was going to be hard but they trusted that in God’s perfect timing, conversions would result. The work was slow and they continued to pray for God’s mercy to be upon the people of Nagaland. They were able to set up the first Baptist Church in Nagaland. By 1905, Clark managed to conduct 190 baptisms of the local people. He died in 1913 at the age of 83 but other missionaries continued sharing the gospel with the locals. By 1980, more than 90% of the people of Nagaland have been converted to Christianity. It took more than 100 years for the religious landscape of Nagaland to change, but 100 years is like a twinkling of the eye where God is concerned. God is willing to wait so that the people of Nagaland had an opportunity to have a relationship with Him through belief in His Son, Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. God withheld His judgment so that the people could turn from their evil head-hunting practices.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your grace and mercy that are new every morning. Help us to be patient to wait upon your perfect timing to save and to judge people. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

 

Questions

  1. What conditions are you impatiently waiting for the Lord to change and why? Share.
  2. Why should you wait for God’s timing and not your timing? Discuss.
  3. Share of a time when God’s timing had been much better than your timing.
  4. In the light of this devotion, how can you change your thinking so that you wait upon God’s timing and not your timing?