The Waiting Room.

2 Peter 3:1-9
1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

If you've ever been in a waiting room expecting your loved one to come out from surgery, you know it can be very antagonizing. It's not easy. It seems almost impossible to get your mind on anything else. In fact, the only thing you notice is the clock ticking before your eyes, one second at a time.

or...

...Someone asks you to do a favor, but you're not quite ready to drop what it is you're currently doing. The one thing you have on your mind is COMPLETING THE TASK.

or...

...You have a possession that has impacted you so much that you care to keep it for a long time. When someone asks you, "Are you ready to get rid of that (whatever it may be)," you say "No, I'm not ready, yet."

The surgeon's time, the person's time who's asking a favor from you, and the person's time who asks if you want to get rid of something DOESN'T MATCH UP TO YOURS!

More importantly, as I touched on last week, GOD'S TIME DOESN'T MATCH UP WITH YOUR TIME. God is working off of his time, which is perfect. Why is it perfect? It goes in accordance to HIS will. Verse 8 above says, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." Memorize this verse and say it throughout the day.

“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience.” ~Unknown