When life is going well, we perceive time as sweet and God as good.  But when life is hard, time becomes bitter and we question both the character and concern of God.  The good news is that this experience of life has been a challenge faced by every generation of Christians.  Thus Peter wrote to the believers of his day to encourage them as they faced suffering and false teaching to remember what they knew to be true.  God’s patience is proof of his compassion for sinners, not his apathy towards sin.