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"O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?" (Habakkuk 1:2). "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. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:8,9).

We live about 12 air miles from the end of the runway at Harrisburg International Airport in practically a straight line for the final approach.*¹ So we are used to planes flying each day over us. Early each morning it's the large cargo jets for Fed Ex and UPS bringing stuff to the region. Then all throughout the day we have regular air traffic.

But periodically we have the Air Force One planes flying over practicing touch and go landings at the airport. (Although they are not technically Air Force One unless the president is on board). Yesterday I visited with our friend Nick who flew on the Air Force One as a radio operator while serving in the Air Force. He had this distinct role in the early sixties while John F. Kennedy was president. He's probably our only friend that has that distinction!

These huge Boeing 747's appear to be going really slow when they fly over us but they are not. In a landing configuration (with full flaps and the landing gear down), its stall speed is around 150 knots (over 170 mph). *²

But the most interesting planes we observe in this regard is when the giant C5 Galaxy cargo planes fly over. At times these huge planes appear to be suspended in the sky, not moving at all. But this is certainly not the case. Airplanes have to be moving!

Slowness is relative. If a sloth observed human beings it would probably think "Oh, my, do they move about quickly!" It's the same with God's apparent slowness or our perception of His slowness.

Today let us consider a portion of our second daily text, “Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness". The specific promise in this context is the promise that He will return. Already some were impatient concerning this promise. Could they even imagine people living some 2,000 years later (us) still waiting for that promise to be fulfilled! But Peter gives us an interesting perspective on time from God's perspective, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day".

But the principle of this text can be applied to other promises God has made for us that we are waiting for. We may earnestly wonder why is God so slow. Of course any promise can be fulfilled instantly by our all-powerful God, but we still wait, sometimes impatiently.

But the part of the text that especially gripped my attention is the phrase "as some understand slowness". This is speaking of God's apparent slowness in keeping His promise to return. From our perspective His timing seems slow, especially when enduring a trial. These could be our words, "O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?" (Habakkuk 1:2).

But God has a purpose in His timing. In regard to Christ's return it is because "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance". In regard to whatever we are waiting on we must trust that God has a purpose in the wait.

Paul made his “wait” experience very public. Writing in 2 Corinthians 12 he was troubled by a “thorn in the flesh”, an unspecified affliction of some type. He had cried out to God for healing and deliverance repeatedly. His specific prayer was not answered as Paul had hoped, but God did speak to him. That answer has brought hope and strength to millions over the years while they’ve waited. I pray that it will also encourage our fellow waiters today: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness".

Be encouraged today! Hebrews 3:13

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