2 Peter 3:3-4

New Living Translation

Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”

For Meditation

Have you wondered why the journey to a new destination seems so long for the first time? You may have wondered how the return trip became so short you got back so quickly. You covered the same distance both times, so what happened? Well, it is all a mind game.

When are we going to get there—how long? How many miles do we have left to cover?

The wonder! The questions that come with it and the anticipation of experiencing the long-desired destination make the maiden trip so long and arduous to bear. But who cares about the return leg of the journey? The wonder gives way to relaxation and mental pictures of the experience you do not want to leave you. So, how did we get here so soon?

Jesus promised He would return for His disciples after preparing an eternal habitation for them (John 14: 1-5). The counting started a short time after His ascension. People have put dates to His return for over two thousand years, but He hasn’t returned. Peter had to put the minds of the early believers to rest in the Lord’s faithfulness and the differences in time conceptions between God and humans (2 Peter 3:1-9). 

 “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (8). 

No one knows the day and time of His return. He said it would be like a thief in the night (10). The encouragement for us is to be expecting and ready.

In the meantime, many things will try our patience. Wars, rumors of wars, pandemics, sicknesses, fires, floods, earthquakes, landslides, drought, famine, poverty, domestic situations, and many more. When will He come back to end these trials and tribulations?

Despite these things, we remember that every promise of God is “Yes” in Christ, and we say, Amen, in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20). He will surely come, though He tarries.

Do not give up on your marriages, despite the turbulence. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient for you if you let Him in them. Never turn back or allow frustration to cloud your faith in His faithfulness (Numbers 3:19).

“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation” (2 Peter 3:14-15).