Quit guessing

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:36–44)

Yesterday I repeated to my praying friends that I’ve never been able to second-guess God. I’ve learned that too much of my prayer requests are more like telling Him what I want Him to do, and His response is never what I thought it would be and always a surprise, not a surprise that He answered, but exactly what He did about the issue.

This means that that He has taught me to stop speculating. I cannot say, “Maybe God will do this or that” because I have no clue what His plan is or what He will do. I am not God and even making suggestions to Him about how to answer my prayers is simply impertinent. 

As I read what Jesus said about His return, it seems important that even He does not know the day or the hour. Some might say this is His humanness talking, but as God He must know. Yet I read it again — He says only the Father knows, not the Son.

Why? Well, if I am to be like Jesus, this is a trust issue. He is coming back. My role is not speculation about the time or how it will happen, but to be doing what He says. I could waste a lot of time researching all the definitions and descriptions when He asked me to have coffee with my neighbor who needs to hear the gospel. He will let me know what I should be doing, not what He is doing.

Even if I could figure it out, the last line verifies that being ready is more important, for He will not show up when I expect it. So all my ideas are useless anyway.

Jesus, You convince me to be alert to Your Spirit and involved in whatever Your will is for me. Only vanity can make me think this day or year or whatever. You also convince me that how and when You do show up, no one will be able to say, “I told you so.” 

 

He came and will come again

“The Lord was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’ ” (Zechariah 1:1–6)

God accused them of doing the very things their ancestors had done before the exile. He was concerned about social justice for widows, orphans, and foreigners. 

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.” . . . .  The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace. (Zechariah 7:8 - 8:19)

Even as the people endured opposition from the non-Jewish inhabitants of Judea, Zechariah reassured them of God’s abiding comfort and care. He would continue his covenant with Israel. Messianic hope was rekindled as He promises to establish His rule over all the earth: 

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. (Zechariah 14:1–9)

Maybe it is my advancing age, or maybe the mess in the world and the nonsense ideas of our leaders, but I am increasing longing for the last things to happen and the return of Jesus to make all things right.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.