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Are You the One Delaying Your Lord’s Return?



The Scriptures speak of a mystery that often goes unnoticed: the people of God are not just passive spectators waiting for the end of the age — they play an active role in hastening the coming of the Lord. Peter makes this clear when he writes:

“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” (2 Peter 3:12 KJV).

This suggests that our actions as believers can, in a sense, speed up the fulfillment of God’s purposes. Let’s look at different ways the Bible shows we may be either hastening or delaying the coming of the Lord.

Prayer and Desire for His Kingdom

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). The Spirit and the Bride together cry out, “Come” (Revelation 22:17). A heart that longs for His appearing, and consistently prays for it, helps usher in His kingdom. If our prayers are cold, self-centered, or worldly, we may be neglecting one of the very means God gave us to call for His coming.

Evangelism and the Harvest of Souls

Jesus declared: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14). The end is tied to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. If the church is slack in missions and evangelism, the timeline of His return is affected. Paul also writes of the “fulness of the Gentiles” needing to come in before the completion of God’s plan (Romans 11:25–26). Preaching, witnessing, and sending laborers into the harvest are all ways of hastening the day.

Holiness and Repentance

Peter connects holy living directly with the expectation of Christ’s return: “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11). Similarly, Acts 3:19–21 speaks of repentance preparing for “the times of restitution of all things” and the sending of Jesus Christ. When believers live in compromise and sin, they misrepresent the Bride of Christ and slow down the readiness of the church. Holiness, on the other hand, prepares the Bride for her Bridegroom.

Watchfulness and Fellowship

The writer of Hebrews exhorts us: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together… but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). Fellowship and encouragement keep us alert, watching for His coming rather than slumbering in distraction. A careless, lukewarm church will delay the fulfillment of prophecy, while a vigilant, fervent church hastens it.

The Cry of the Bride

The final words of Scripture echo this truth: “Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). The longing cry of the Bride is itself a form of partnership with Christ’s return. The more the church yearns for Him, the sooner that yearning will be satisfied.

Conclusion

Are you the one delaying your Lord’s return? The truth is that our prayer, our witness, our holiness, and our unity as the church all contribute to the hastening of that glorious day. The delay is not because God is slow but because He is patient, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

The question then becomes deeply personal: Is your life helping to speed His coming, or is it part of what delays it?



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