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2 Peter 3:15
15 And [kai] account [hegeomai] that the longsuffering [makrothumia] of our [hemon] Lord [kurios] is salvation [soteria]; even as [kathos] our [hemon] beloved [agapetos] brother [adelphos] Paul [Paulos] also [kai] according to [kata] the wisdom [sophia] given [didomi] unto him [autos] hath written [grapho] unto you [humin]; KJV-Interlinear
15 and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, NASB
Just because God does not strike with lightning immediately when someone does wrong, and just because the promises of God have not come to pass, as most of the prophecies of the Old Testament are still unfulfilled, then this does not mean that they are empty promises, nor that God has forgotten them.
Quite the contrary. God looks down through the tunnel of time and sees all generations still unborn, and waits patiently for them to come into existence, so that they (and you) can believe and be saved, and/or advance in their spiritual lives.
Patience and wisdom based on facts, even if those facts have not yet come into existence, are the key to understanding many of the aspects of Gods plan.
God gives us all time, adequate time, to get our act together, spiritually. Some of us are just too stupid to realize that we are wasting the precious minutes God has given us.
People who are prosperous generally have the most difficult time in growing up spiritually. Prosperity has a tendency of making you pretentious, and somewhat insincere with respect to life. It is difficult to understand the pressures of poverty or hardship unless you have been there.
On the other hand, hard times can turn you sour on life, sour on God, and just plain sour all around.
But God gives you time to overcome your sourness, and that in itself is a blessing, believe it or not.
Remember one thing, if you remember anything – Jesus Christ controls history. That means that He controls the details of your life. In Christ, which means by learning doctrine, remaining in fellowship, and applying doctrine to your life, then in Christ you have total security and safety, regardless of the circumstances of your life.
Know this, that your life in this world, is not going to be a path of rose petals. There will be suffering of some sort in your life. Your life will likely be a rollercoaster ride, and if you get that straight in your head, then perhaps you will stop blaming God, stop complaining, stop whining, stop demanding, when life goes against you.
Stop subscribing to the attitude that once you get successful, then … you’ll do this or that. God is not interested in your doing this or that. God is interested in your growing up in your spiritual life and obeying His every command regardless of whether you are in poverty or prosperity.
You may have noticed that regardless of what goes on in this world, whether feast or famine, peace or war, the world cannot prevent your thinking processes. You can think when you are sick, just as easily as when you are healthy. You can think with one leg or two. You can think with one dollar in your pocket or a billion.
And in all of this, God gives you time to get your spiritual life together.
Back in Peter’s day, there was no television, no internet, no telephone, no technology as we know it today. And yet Peter here refers to the letters of Paul, and Peter presumes that those reading this letter, are also familiar with the letters of Paul.
That was an ancient time, and still people read the letters just as easily as you and I read the Bible of today.
Today we find Bibles everywhere, and Peter here implies that those letters were likewise copied and spread around such that folks in communities spread far apart, could have easy access to them and their content.
This also indicates that people in those ancient times, desired Bible doctrine.
All you have to do is look yourself in the mirror, and figure out what your excuses are, what your complaints are, what your rationalizations are, what your pretentions are, and get over them. And the sooner the better for you.
