Why Is God Taking So Long?

For everyone · Tell us where you are

1. Why is God taking so long?

   • 2 Pet 3:8–9

     ⁸Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

   • Hab 2:1–3

     ¹I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the ramparts. I will watch to see what He will say to me, and how I should answer when corrected. ²Then the Lord answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it. ³For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

   • Gal 4:4

     ⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

2. Has God forgotten me?

   • Isa 49:14–16

     ¹⁴But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me; the Lord has forgotten me!” ¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you! ¹⁶Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.

   • Ps 13

     ¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? ²How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me? Keep reading

   • Isa 40:27–31

     ²⁷Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my claim is ignored by my God”? ²⁸Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. ²⁹He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. Keep reading

3. What did Abraham learn in his long wait?

   • Gen 15:1–6

     ¹After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” ²But Abram replied, “O Lord God, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Keep reading

   • Rom 4:18–21

     ¹⁸Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, Keep reading

   • Heb 6:13–15

     ¹³When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, ¹⁴saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.” ¹⁵And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise.