Bible Reading: 2 Peter 3:9
God really does want you in heaven with him. That was God’s plan from the very beginning. God created man to be with God.
Sadly, Adam’s sin spoiled God’s plans. Because God is holy and sinless he can’t be “in the same room” with sin. That means that after Adam sinned, we were all forced into separation from God.
But that isn’t the end of the story. We can have that close relationship with God that God planned for us to have. God made a way for us to get away from sin so that we can be in the same room with God again
God had Jesus die on the cross to take the punishment for our sin. Since Jesus took our punishment by separating himself from God, we don’t have to be separated from God any more. If we believe that Jesus did that, admit that we needed him to be punished for us, and tell him that we’re sorry for the evil that we’ve done that caused him to have to die for us, we can be in the same room with God again.
If that’s true, why doesn’t God just take us to heaven when we ask for forgiveness and invite Jesus into our lives?
2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” It may seem to us that God should work faster to “fix” things here on earth and get rid of the bad things, but God has His own timing. We need to be patient, trust God, and wait on Him.
“The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” Lamentations 3:25 & 26
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I may not totally understand Your plan or Your timing, but I trust you…and I love you! In Jesus’ name. Amen.