2 Peter 3:12

Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

Peter says something here that makes you stop and think. He does not talk about the coming of the Lord as though we are only meant to sit in a chair, stare at the sky, and wait. He speaks as if the people of God are actually involved. He says we are to be looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God.

That means the believer is not just watching history move. He is participating in it.

You need to see this. God is absolutely sovereign, and yet in His sovereignty He has chosen to work in connection with the prayers, obedience, and response of His people. That does not weaken His rule. It reveals the beauty of it. He is so sovereign that He can weave our choices, our prayers, and our faithfulness into His perfect plan without ever losing control of it.

You recall the story of Israel standing on the edge of the Promised Land. The land was there. The promise was sure. But fear kept them from stepping forward. And what happened? What should have been entered quickly was delayed for forty years. The promise was not cancelled, but it was postponed through unbelief.

Then you have Nineveh. Jonah preached judgment. The city repented. God relented from the destruction He had announced. Same sovereign God. Same perfect authority. Yet He responded to the turning of people’s hearts.

So when Peter says we can hasten the day, he is not speaking nonsense. He is telling us that heaven has not called us to passive Christianity. The Lord has given us a part to play.

How do we hasten the day?

First, by prayer.

Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come.” That is not filler language. That is not religious poetry. That is the cry of a heart that wants the rule of Christ to break in fully and finally. John heard Jesus say, “Surely I come quickly,” and John answered, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” That is how the church lives when it is awake. It prays toward eternity.

And prayer changes the person who prays. The one who truly longs for Christ to come begins to loosen his grip on the world. Petty things lose some of their power. Old grudges do not feel worth carrying. Vanity starts looking thin. A praying heart becomes a purifying heart.

Second, by sharing.

The Gospel is still going out. The Lord is still saving men and women. The family is still being gathered. And every time the message is shared, every time someone is invited, every time Christ is lifted up before a hurting soul, we are participating in something eternal. We are not wasting breath when we witness. We are stepping into the great work of God in history.

Notice this. When a man lives with the return of Jesus in view, three things begin to show up in his life.

Purity.

He starts asking different questions. Not just, What can I get away with? but, Is this fitting for someone who may see the Lord today? There is something about expectancy that cleans up a man’s walk. A person who believes Jesus could come at any moment will think differently, speak differently, and carry himself differently.

Peace.

A lot of the things that feel enormous right now shrink when laid beside eternity. The scratch on the car. The cold shoulder at work. The insult. The delay. The disappointment. When you remember that the King is coming, you stop treating temporary things like ultimate things. The soul settles down.

Purpose.

A believer who is living in light of Christ’s return is not merely drifting from task to task. He knows why he is here. He prays. He loves. He speaks. He serves. He forgives. He keeps moving. Life stops feeling like a treadmill and starts feeling like a mission.

Beloved, maybe that is why some hearts feel dull. Maybe it is not because there is no work to do. Maybe it is because eternity has slipped out of view. We were made to live with a horizon bigger than the next bill, the next appointment, or the next problem.

Peter says, in effect, Live in such a way that you are welcoming the day, praying toward the day, laboring toward the day.

So lift your eyes.

Pray for the kingdom.

Speak of Jesus.

Live clean.

Walk calm.

Stay on mission.

The coming of the Lord is not meant to make us weird. It is meant to make us ready.