2 Peter 3:8-9
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: For the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow to do what he promised, as some consider slowness. Instead, he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your patience with us. Each day is a struggle between doing what is right and the sin that tempts us away from You. There is great comfort in the words that assure us You are not slow in fulfilling what You promised, but rather patient, desiring that no one should perish and that all people come to repentance.
Yet, You do not force anyone to believe in You and continuously provide Your Holy Spirit to ignite and kindle faith. Your Holy Spirit works through Your word and sacraments to ignite that spark of faith within each person, and while You will do everything to sustain that ember, an individual can reject Your Spirit and extinguish faith’s spark.
We hear these words expressing Your will for people, indicating that You do not want anyone to perish. Therefore, You do everything possible to provide them with opportunities to know, believe, and trust in You, which we trust in You through faith in Your Son. Jesus suffered for our sins on the cross so that by believing in Him, our sins are removed and we are restored to You.
Your salvation plan is how we have come to trust in You; this does not mean we are free from sin. Temptations constantly come at us; having faith means we fight against those challenges. When we fail, we recognize our sins and turn to our Savior, who forgives and restores us. So we thank You for being patient with us; we see our sins and understand how awful we are and how much more superior Your grace and mercy are than our sins.
Please allow us to be part of Your salvational plan for unbelievers—only You know who they are. Guide them to our path, and let us share Your patience, love, grace, and mercy with them so that they may repent and not perish. Amen.
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
Fortunately, God’s patience surpasses our own; it transcends our understanding, yet it has an endpoint corresponding to your time of grace. He has sent His one and only Son to suffer and restore you to Him so that you may come to know and trust in Jesus during your time of grace.