What Can I Do When It Feels Like God Isn’t There?نموونە

Day #2: When God Seems Slow

Why does God act so slowly?

I’m by no means the first person to ask this question. In fact, it’s a question asked repeatedly in the Bible. Abraham lamented God’s timing. Moses and the people of Israel were forced to wait 40 years in the desert before entering the promised land. Israel had to wait in exile. And upon their return, they had to wait for the Messiah. At a cursory glance, it sure seems like there is a lot of waiting involved in God’s plans for the world. Why would God order things this way?

Frustratingly, God rarely explains his plans to his creatures, which includes his timing for those plans.

It seems that the Bible is not all that interested in explaining the details of God’s timing choices to its readers. And like you, I can find that very, very frustrating. What we are told about God’s general reasons for his timing (and everything else that he does) comes from the epistles, mostly. All of God’s timing choices are made according to his infinite intelligence and supremely trustworthy wisdom (Ephesians 1:3-10). The Scriptures clearly want us to trust that, while God will not explain the precise reasons for his timing to us, he is always good, wise, and true, even when he seems slow. In today’s passage, Peter is writing very clearly to the Christians subject to intense persecution all across the Roman world.

Surprisingly, and quite unexpectedly, the very same slowness that seems excruciatingly difficult for us to bear actually occurs because God loves us, and God loves those who don’t yet love him back. It is not for the sake of difficulty or pain that we wait on the Lord. It is for the sake of his invincible, sovereign love for sinners.

Prayer:

Father, your word teaches us that you are never late, that you are right on time. When I am experiencing your perceived slowness, help me to trust that your timing and purposes are perfect. Help me, along with the psalmist, to say “I wait for the Lord ... and in his word I hope!” (Psalm 130 v 5). Amen.