Why Does God Wait?

“And after you have suffered a little while…” (1 Peter 5:10)

If God has defeated the devil and will one day bring all suffering to an end, then why is he waiting? Why does it have to be a little while more?

Have you ever found yourself asking that? Why does God delay? If the war has been won, then why let the battles go on?

As I prayed and thought at least two answers came to mind. First, God waits yet a little while more because God is compassionate and patient. In 2 Peter 3:9 we read this:“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

In other words, God patiently allows the temporary suffering of his children now to relive the forever suffering of those who have yet to repent and trust in Christ. God in his infinite mercy, desires to see all people saved and takes no delight in destruction of the wicked[1], so he waits that others might come to repent of their sin.

And as we’ve seen throughout 1 Peter, it’s often when others see us suffering with a supreme delight in Jesus that they are captured by the truth of the gospel themselves. In that way, God uses our temporary suffering to alleviate others from eternal suffering.

A second reason God waits is because his ultimate aim is not just to defeat Satan, but display his superior beauty that brings about our supreme joy. I rely on a pastor by the name of John Piper for insight here: “Christ could simply exert sovereign power and snuff Satan out. That would indeed glorify Christ’s power. But it would not display so clearly the superior worth of Jesus over Satan…The aim of the gospel is to put the glory of the crucified Christ on display and to shame Satan by the millions of people who…forsake Satan’s lies in preference for the beauty of Christ…If Christ obliterated all demons now (which he could do), his sheer power would be seen as glorious, but his superior beauty and worth would not shine so brightly as when God’s people renounce the promises of Satan, trust in Christ’s blood and righteousness, and take pleasure in the greater glory of Jesus revealed in the gospel.”[2]

So God waits because he wants the gospel to shine most clearly; he wants the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ to be painted on the canvas of our soul with the most vibrancy we can behold. And this is good news because not only does it bring God glory, but it brings us joy. For all of eternity we will see Christ for who is, not just for his power, but for his beauty and worth. God is after your eternal joy so he waits so he can magnify the one thing, the One Person, who fulfills that joy for you.

by Joey

Worship Through Prayer

Sovereign and blessed God in the name of Jesus Christ we come to you in prayer acknowledging your greatness; you alone are self-sufficient; you alone are infinitely happy; you alone are all powerful; you alone know all things; you alone deserve all glory; you are Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of our lives. For this we give you praise.

Deepen our humility before you, dependence on you, and thankfulness to you. Captivate us with your glorious grace; by the power of your Holy Spirit, cause us to be satisfied by and delight in your goodness. Help us, in view of your mercy and greatness, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices – this is our spiritual act of worship. Give us the grace and strength to not be conformed by this world, but fill us with your Spirit that we might be transformed by the renewal of our mind.

We pray for your glory not just in our lives, but around the globe. Oh, that you would be the supreme joy of the Comorian people of Madagascar and the Tay people of Vietnam and the Behdini Kurds of Northern Iraq. Raise up men and women – even from this congregation – to carry the gospel to these lands that they might know, praise and enjoy you forever. We pray for the nations right here in our city; we pray for the Hispanic community in Columbia Heights. By your grace, we plead with you in the name of Jesus Christ, that you would use our efforts to start a Spanish speaking, bible-believing, Christ-exalting church in Colombia Heights. Use the current Bible study to increasingly see people not just hear about Jesus but come to faith in Jesus.

We pray for our own congregation. We give you praise for your evident grace working in and through our church. Continue to knit us together in love that we might reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of you, our Lord. Build up the body of Christ here at Restoration Church that we might attain the unity of the faith; give us grace to speak the truth in love, to serve each other selflessly, to reach out to each other intentionally. Yes, Lord by your grace, grow us up into Christ Jesus.

We praise you for the ways you have done and are doing this. And at the same time, we confess that we often pursue our own interests not those of Christ. We confess that we are selfish thinking ourselves better and more important than those around us. We confess that too often we masquerade behind our good behavior, which only conceals our self-righteous heart. We confess that we use the stock phrases and expected answers to keep people from really knowing our sins, our hurts and even our hopes. We confess that we desire stock phrases and expected answers from others so that we don’t really have to engage them and be inconvenienced by their honesty. Father, when we stop and think for just a moment, we realize just how creative and corrupt we are in our sin against you and others.

Oh, Lord God, we are great sinners rebelling against you in word, thought, and deed. Give us grace to not just change our behavior and words, but to stop believing lies and worshipping the false gods of image, success, materialism, and comfort. By your Holy Spirit convict us of sin and point us to the redemption and satisfaction found in Christ alone – He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds we have been healed; we were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, Christ Jesus. God of all grace, in the name of Jesus, restore and strengthen us that we might delight in the supremacy of Christ our King and spread His Kingdom. Amen.

by Joey