“So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.’ ” (Acts 1:6-7)
One of the reasons Jesus’ crucifixion seemed to catch the disciples off-guard is because they believed all along that he had come to set up his kingdom on earth, to overthrow the Romans and return Israel to her glory days, just as the prophecies say he one day will.
Now that he had died and come back to life – with that kind of power available to him – was it finally time to put Israel back on the map? “Really: What happens now, Lord?”
Jesus is clear: You don’t get to know that, but the Father has set a date. The kingdom will come at the perfect time. That leaves them – and us – waiting for the final resolution. In Romans 8, Paul says that waiting is painful, but we can also be patient as we trust our Father’s strength, heart, and wisdom.
In the meantime . . . tune in tomorrow.
Think: Do you ever have a sense that you’re waiting for God to bring justice, to bring resolution, to bring us all home to be with him, to finally make everything right? What makes the waiting harder and/or easier?
Pray: Thank God that his timing is perfect even when he doesn’t tell us what it is. Ask him to help you trust his timing.
Do: Read how Paul described our painful and patient waiting in Romans 8:18-27.