Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!
2 Peter 3:11–12
We understand waiting. But we have a hard time comprehending hastening. Peter seems to suggest that the people of God do not merely pass time until the day arrives. They live in such a way that their longing, obedience, witness, and prayers are caught up in God’s redemptive purposes.
We wait, but not passively.
We long, but not idly.
We watch, but not with folded hands.
There is something active about Christian hope. It fuels prayer. It deepens faithfulness. It intensifies the mission. People who really believe Christ is coming do not drift into apathy. They become more awake, more prayerful, more earnest about the things that matter.
And maybe that is part of what it means to hasten the day, not controlling God’s calendar, but living in wholehearted alignment with His purposes while we await its arrival. We become people whose lives say, “Come, Lord Jesus,” not only with our lips, but with our loves.
Lord, we confess that our waiting is often passive, distracted, and dulled by lesser concerns. Thank You for giving us hope that moves us toward faithfulness rather than apathy. Teach us to wait with longing, work with purpose, and pray with expectation. We offer You our waiting and ask that it become worshipful, watchful, and full of holy desire.
Waiting with Longing,
eep
