Not Slow, as We Count Slowness: Waiting on God for a Home

The envelope is taped inside the kitchen cupboard, behind the rice. Every fortnight, when the pay comes in, a little more goes in. It has been there for six years. The plan was a deposit on a small place of their own within three. Then the car needed replacing, then school fees rose, then Mummy was in hospital. The envelope is fuller now than it has ever been, but the house still feels a long way off.

Perhaps your waiting looks different. A family land title that has been “in process” for years. A debt you are paying down one month at a time. A visa application that decides where you will live. A tenancy that is insecure, and a longing for a place where no one can give you notice. Whatever the details, you know the question that rises at night: Lord, how long?

What Peter actually said

Peter’s second letter was written to believers who were tired of waiting. People were mocking them: where is this promised coming of the Lord? Everything carries on as it always has. Peter’s answer is often quoted in part. The fuller passage says:

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us.” (2 Peter 3:8–9, NKJV)

Notice the careful phrase: as some count slackness. Peter does not promise that God will act on our timetable. He says that God is not slow by His own measure, and that what looks like delay may be patience, room for others to come to repentance, room for purposes we cannot yet see.

That is both a comfort and a challenge. It means the waiting is not forgetfulness. It also means we cannot demand that God move quickly just because we have declared it.

The farmer and the rain

James offers an image that anyone from a farming district will recognise. He tells believers to be patient, like the farmer who waits for the valuable crop of the earth, waiting patiently for the early and late rains (James 5:7). The farmer does not sit idle. He clears the land, plants, weeds and watches the sky. But he cannot make it rain.

Waiting for a home is often like that. There is work to do: saving, keeping records tidy, paying bills on time, chasing the attorney politely about the title, learning about mortgages, looking after the place you rent. And there is a part that is out of your hands: interest rates, the pace of the land registry, the job market, the health of those you love.

It will surely come

The prophet Habakkuk also wrestled with God’s timing. God’s answer to him was to write the vision down plainly, because it was for an appointed time: “though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Habakkuk 2:3, KJV).

There is wisdom in that instruction to write it down. Some families find it helps to write out what they are praying and working towards: the kind of home they need, the debt they want cleared, the date they started. Years later, it becomes a record of God’s faithfulness, sometimes in ways they did not expect. The house may be smaller than they imagined, or in a different parish, or it may come through a relative’s generosity rather than a mortgage. The promise of God’s care is sure, even when the shape of the answer surprises us.

Faithful in the meantime

• Make the place you have a home. A rented room can still be a place of peace, prayer and welcome.
• Keep going with the small disciplines. The envelope behind the rice matters.
• Beware of shortcuts. Impatience makes people vulnerable to schemes that promise a quick house or quick money. If an offer sounds too good, get independent advice before you pay anything.
• Let others share the wait. Tell trusted friends or your church what you are praying for, so they can pray and help.
• Give thanks for each step. A debt cleared, a document signed, a month’s saving achieved.

For reflection

• What are you waiting for in your home or finances, and how long have you been waiting?
• Which part of the waiting is yours to work at, and which part must you leave with God?

Pray with me

Lord, You are not slow as I count slowness. You see the envelope, the paperwork and the long nights. Give me patience that keeps working and faith that keeps trusting. Protect me from shortcuts that would harm my family. Provide a home for us in Your time, and make us faithful where we are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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