Is God Slow?
You’re watching funny cat videos on YouTube when suddenly that dreaded wheel of death invades your good time. Your video is buffering. Nobody likes buffering. In fact, one study found that “buffering reduces video watch time by about 40%.” Even a millisecond of buffering can cause a user to jump from that video to another. Enough buffering events and you’ll abandon the app altogether. We don’t like to wait.
Yet we read in Scripture that “with the Lord one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” God stands outside of time. His experience of time, if we can even speak in such terms, is quite different than ours. Which is why it appears to us that God spends far more than “seconds” exposing us to a buffering wheel. It can feel like our life is buffering. And just as we get frustrated at our streaming app, we get upset when God makes us wait. We might even get angry enough to try another “app” for help.
But Scripture consistently tells us that God isn’t slow. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us one reason why it seems that God is moving slowly.
What Is the Context of 2 Peter 3:9?
To really understand the emotion of this verse, we need to think about a little boy, we’ll call him Tommy, waiting at the bus stop for a parent to arrive. But he’s not alone. He is surrounded by bullies. These bullies mock him as he’s waiting, “Your parents aren’t coming for you. They don’t love you. Nobody loves you. You might as well start walking on home — if you even have one. Nobody is coming!”
With each glance at his watch, the mocking increases. He figured they should have been here to pick him up by now. The darts from the bullies begin to implant in his heart. “Are they coming? Why are they so late? Has something happened? I thought they’d be here by now.” You can develop some pretty nasty thoughts and beliefs about your parents in such a situation.
And that is why Peter writes what he does here. The persecuted believers are being mocked for their incessant belief that Christ is returning. They continue to trust in God’s promise of rescue, but they also keep having to check their watches. This nervousness doesn’t go unremarked upon by the scoffers in their midst. It seems that they are beginning to get discouraged and seeds of doubt are wedging themselves into their heart. So, Peter says, “The Lord is not slow as some count slowness.”
This all begs a question, though. What does “slow” even mean?
What Does “Slow” Even Mean?
How fast can you run the 40-yard dash? If you’re NFL superstar Tyreek Hill, you can do it in 4.29 seconds. An average time is anywhere from 5-5.5 seconds. If it takes you 6 seconds that would be considered slow. Unless, of course, you’re over 75 years of age, then a six-second 40-yard dash would be quite impressive. What does all of this tell us? “Slow” is not an objective standard. It is subjective.
This is why Peter says, “as some count slowness.” Slow is determined by a situation. If a teenager, fresh off a party he wasn’t supposed to throw, is informed that his parents on their way home — he hopes that they drive slowly, but regardless of their speed it will likely feel as if they’ve come too quickly. On the other end of the spectrum, if you need an ambulance to arrive to save the life of a loved one, it will not feel as if they’ve arrived too soon.
Those who are scoffing in this passage, and the believers perhaps tempted to become discouraged by it, have a particular amount of time that they consider acceptable for God to accomplish His promises. When it doesn’t happen according to their standard, they mock. But Peter is turning the tables on them. Rather than mocking God’s “slowness” they ought to use his patience as an opportunity for repentance. We see this clearly when we consider the meaning of this passage.
What Does 2 Peter 3:9 Mean?
In the first part of this chapter, Peter talks about those who are scoffers. He has them in his sights as he writes this entire passage — but his greater aim is to encourage believers. We know from verse 8 that his audience is “the beloved.” To use our previous illustration, Peter wants “Tommy” to know why his parents haven’t showed up yet.
The reason for the “slowness” is that God’s patience is holding out until “all” should reach repentance. To continue our illustration, Tommy’s parents haven’t picked him up yet because they are running a shuttle bus and have a handful of people who must be picked up before their arrival.
You might have noticed, though, that this presents a few problems for us. Are there a limited number of people who are going to hop on the shuttle bus? Or are they stopping for a moment at each bus stop—waiting for people to hop aboard for an indiscriminate amount of time, then driving off to the next stop? The implications of this passage provide a few sticky theological questions.
What exactly does it mean that God doesn’t desire any to repent but “all” to come to repentance? Does that mean God will wait until everyone repents or that after a set period of time, He’ll realize they aren’t coming to the bus stop and so His desire will be thwarted?
It might be best for us to simply consider what in this specific passage Peter is saying. A key is found in the word “you” in verse 9. Verse 8 tells us that he is speaking to the “beloved.” He is patient on account of “you” — not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. The “all” there is likely referring to all of the believers — or those who will become believers. I take this to mean that the reason why Jesus hasn’t returned is because there are yet some who are going to repent. And He won’t return until that repentance happens. His delay is on “our” account.
Just think for a moment what would have happened if Jesus would have returned in the first century when these believers were pressing for it. It would mean that you and I wouldn’t have ever heard the gospel — we wouldn’t have even been born. And the same is true for all of those who are yet to repent — or maybe even be born. God isn’t going to lose any of those who will “reach repentance.” Thus, he tarries.
This tells us much about the heart of God.
What Does This Tell Us about God?
First, God’s “slowness” is meant to lead us to repentance. Rather than Him being slack in fulfilling His promise, the very wait itself is part of this promise. When Jesus said that He wasn’t going to lose any of the sheep that had been entrusted to Him, he meant far more than the first-century disciples. He means you and I too. As well as those who are yet to come. If Jesus hasn’t returned, it means there is still work to be done. There are still people who are going to respond to the gospel. This is wonderfully great news.
Secondly, it reminds us that we can trust in God’s timing. If you’re Tommy waiting at the bus-stop it might feel at times as if your parents have abandoned you. But they are doing something wonderful that will only expand your joy for all eternity. They are coming, don’t listen to the scoffers.
Next, we ought to use this as an opportunity to share the gospel and repent ourselves. If you’re already a believer, then this is a call to share the gospel of Christ. There is one more to still repent. What if the next person you share the gospel with is the last person who is going to come? Wouldn’t it be amazing that as they call upon the name of the Lord, heaven opens and Christ returns?
Or perhaps we should use this as an opportunity to repent as well. The day of the Lord will come like a thief. If there is still grace in this moment, we ought to use it.
God isn’t slow. He is patient. And that’s great news, even if it means we have to also learn patience at the bus stop.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Satyawan Narinedhat
Mike Leake is husband to Nikki and father to Isaiah and Hannah. He is also the lead pastor at Calvary of Neosho, MO. Mike is the author of Torn to Heal and Jesus Is All You Need. His writing home is http://mikeleake.net and you can connect with him on Twitter @mikeleake. Mike has a new writing project at Proverbs4Today.
Originally published January 14, 2025.
