Nougat 22

Today’s Holy Nougat comes in two flavors (just like yesterday’s) so that we might savor…

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

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“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT

Desired Outcome

Siblings in Christ, in His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus made it very clear that God’s desire is for all to experience eternity. And yes, all means ALL. For sure, in saying anyone who believes has access to eternity corroborates this idea. In John 1, we’re also told that receiving Jesus Christ as the Messiah and God’s Son results in adoption as Children of God. It’s the same thing, presented differently.

As one of Jesus’ inner circle, Peter would have been familiar with Jesus’ argument about God’s plans – he heard and experienced it up front daily. Not only would he have heard excerpts from the talk with Nicodemus (news travels), but he received that same grace (Matthew 16), even after denying Jesus. He spoke, rather wrote, from personal redemptive knowledge that God’s Love has the goal of rescuing us from eternal damnation into eternal joy in God’s presence.

He was also an expert on God’s timing (remember him instigating the disciples’ return to the sea while waiting on Jesus to deliver them through Pentecost in John 21?), and yes Jesus did appear. That delay also results in our transformation process, because Peter was the apostles’ spokesperson. So he knew what delayed gratification was like. Peter understood why a delayed answer was not a denial of the request.

This then is the invitation to seriously consider the previous delayed prayers we faced. Did we experience personal change during the wait? Were there lessons in the waiting room that influenced the way the prayer was answered? What has changed, shifted since then and now? In those respects, God is unchanging. Expect to be transformed by our openness to God’s plans. Let’s water our wait with thankful anticipation!

We continue to pray, ’Your will be done on earth as in Heaven.’ In so doing, God’s desired outcome is realized, and our prayer comes to pass according to God’s timing and plans. Selah

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In Christ’s Love and Grace