Picture this scene (or perhaps this has happened in your home)—You’ve promised your child to take them somewhere they’ve always wanted to go, and now it’s time. They’re excited. They’ve been eagerly anticipating this promise fulfilled for what seems like forever in their mind.

Only one problem—they haven’t gotten ready yet. “Hey mom/dad—why aren’t we going?! You said we could go! What’s taking you so long?!”

“Honey, we’ll go as soon as you’re ready. You still have to get dressed.”

“But I am dressed!”

And so they are, in their own mind. But you know they’re not dressed the way they need to be for the event. Which means, they’re not ready.

Until they do get ready, they can’t experience the fulfillment of the promise. Seems so obvious, doesn’t it?

Yet so often we are that child. We are the ones accusing our heavenly Father of not keeping His promise and/or taking too long to fulfill it, when all along He’s just waiting for us to be ready to receive that fulfillment.

We can see this in 2 Pet. 3:9-14, where Peter addresses those who are wondering what’s taking the Lord so long to put an end to all evil and make everything right. They’ve been waiting for Him to destroy the current “heavens and earth” and “according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

Sounds great, doesn’t it? No more bad things happening to good people. No more bad people getting away with all kinds of evil. No more evil dictators oppressing those living in bondage within their governance. No more war, terrorism, disaster… the list goes on.

And if people in Peter’s time thought the Lord was taking too long to set things right, imagine now, over two-thousand years later! Has He forgotten His promise? Has He decided to renege on it, like a politician once they get elected to public office? What gives?!

In reality, He’s waiting for us. 2 Pet. 3:9 informs us that “The Lord is now slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Later, He exhorts us to get ready for that new heavens and earth by living “lives of holiness and godliness…” (v.12) and “since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” (v.14)

In other words, He’s saying we’re not ready yet, because we’re not “dressed” properly for the event. As members of His beloved family, we need to “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Col. 3:12-14

Oh dear—and we thought traditional Japanese kimonos were hard to put on and wear!

For any of us who say, “I don’t need to do that. I’m not looking forward to the end of the world.”—getting ready applies to other promises the Lord gives us, either individually or corporately.

For example— Maybe the Lord has promised to fulfill a calling in our life, and after so many years, we’re still not doing what He called us to do. Did we hear wrong? Did we “miss the boat”? Did He forget about us? Did He revoke it? Let’s investigate:

It’s possible we heard wrong, but if we had, He would have let us know if we asked Him or will let us know now if we ask Him about it. He won’t leave us guessing when we seek and ask Him.

As for “missing the boat”—The Lord isn’t One to say “Sorry buddy, but you missed your chance. Now you’ll just have to languish on the bench the rest of your life.” We may have missed an opportunity to train for or serve in that calling, but He’s as eager for us to fulfill our calling as we are. That’s why He called us to it, and He’ll give and reveal more opportunities.

As to forgetting about us—We are His children and He’s our perfect Father. He never forgets us, even if we forget about Him sometimes. (Is. 49:15-16)

Finally, He assures us that once called, we’re always called. “The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable.” (Rom. 11:29)

So why aren’t we living our calling yet? Because He knows we’ll be miserable in it and cause more harm than good if we haven’t developed the character to do it His way, with His best outcomes. We would only become one of those abusive leaders, or puffed up with pride, or fall into temptation, or stunted in our own spiritual growth.

Talk to anyone who’s experienced this, and if they’re honest with themselves and us, they’ll admit they wished they with they’d waited. They wish they’d dealt with past hurts and been healed first, and/or let the Spirit develop more of His fruit in them before they took on that ministry.

Another type of promise involves blessing. What about when that blessing still hasn’t arrived? Amazon, UPS, FedEx, the Postal Service, and other carriers sometimes “drop the ball” (or the package) when it comes to delivering on time, or at all, undamaged.

But the Lord always delivers on promised blessing. If it’s “late”, it’s because we’re not ready to receive it. He knows if we get it now, we’ll either ruin it or it will ruin us and maybe others through it. Have you ever seen a parent give their toddler a chemistry set for their birthday? If you have, stay far away from that house!

As with calling, blessings become curses for us and anyone we impact when mishandled due to lack of maturity.

But when we’re mature enough and asking with right motives, “whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” 1 Jn. 3:22

Still waiting on the Lord? It may be “on” Him. Or it may be “on” us. Either way, start getting ready—take off our “pajamas” and “suit up” for the game or “dress up” for the banquet—so when it’s time to go and receive, He won’t have to wait for us!