"It Won't Be Long"

So hungry that I’d ask her,

Granny, when we gonna eat,

Smiled and said it won’t be long,

I’ve baked a special treat.

So many times I asked ‘em,

Is Christmas almost here,

Mama always smiled and said,

It won’t be long, my dear.

When we going hunting,

I knew my Dad would say,

It won’t very long, son,

I can hear it to this day.

When will church be over,

It seemed so long to me,

It won’t be long, they’d whisper,

The amen soon you’ll see.

But most of all I wondered,

When was Jesus coming back.

It won’t be long, they’d tell me,

No confidence they lacked.

But a day is like a thousand years,

And a thousand years a day,

It won’t be long takes longer,

Than all of us can say.

So live as if it’s very soon,

Or death knocks on our door,

Either way it won’t be long,

Till life will be no more.

Be thankful and be ready,

‘Cause this life soon will end,

Live as though it won’t be long,

And you’ll live it right, my friend.

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years, like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8, NAS)

God doesn’t measure time the way we do as human beings. His is an eternal perspective, and Peter explains that He is not slow but always on time. If the return of Jesus seems overdue, it’s because God is being patient toward those who need to repent. Thank God for His patience. And thank God for giving us an inkling of why His timing is important. In fact it is perfect.

Lord, help us trust in Your timing, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.