Lord, Will You at This Time?

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Many at the end of the year have felt like the proverbial child on Christmas morning or classic roadtrip ride. Is it time yet? Are we there yet? Is it time yet? As fast as last year went by, many of us are glad to see it go. Maybe the disappointments in its differences or delays, or for some the unexpected tragedies left in its wake, fill us anew and in a special way with a hope for this new year. Maybe - just maybe - it will be a period of change, redemption, fulfillment. One last-minute yet long-overdue commitment for me this calendar year is to read through the whole Bible, something I haven’t done in many years. I’m glad to have been recommended as a guide, The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan (download the PDF and join me).[1] One helpful feature of this plan is to have readings in different portions of Scripture, and thereby yesterday something in Acts 1 resonated with me that may with you. 

Think of the disciples, having just gone through wave upon storm of tragedy then victory. They stand ready for a new start, for a grand future to appear. God’s kingdom come; His will be done! So the next time they come together, they ask Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (v. 6) “Now is the time,” they must’ve thought, “Here it is!” Aren’t you and I ready too? Sure, there were things they didn’t expect with a crucified Messiah and risen Lord and all that. But surely they hadn’t been that far off. Certainly God would now make all hopes fulfilled, bring things back into their expectations. Like us, like many in our world, they hoped (or feared?) for their nation. They longed for healing (both social and physical). Or maybe they merely wanted something to turn out right - or just better! No doubt Jesus had the power. And no question their plans were God’s. Right? 

So think of what they must have thought when He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” (v. 7) But wait. No. This isn’t how it was supposed to turn out. What they went through should’ve been the last of the unexpected. Now was the time. God is supposed to get things right again. But that’s not how it works. That’s not how God works. It’s His plan to execute; it’s His right to know. Not theirs. Not mine. Not yours. Yet, we so often ask this question in our lives. Lord, will you at this time? Will you make my year more profitable at this time? Will you let my plans work out at this time? Will you let me find the one at this time? Will you show me what to do next at this time? Will you just give me some happy times at this time? 

Jesus doesn’t really let us linger with these questions either. He’s not much for agonizing over God’s will or plan for our lives. Straightaway, He tells us what it is: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (v. 8) Not much there about the man of your dreams. No worries about employee of the year award. Not a five-year outlook. No need to make America great again. He calls us to be witnesses. His witnesses. His witnesses to the world. Notice too the difference in subject (people, not productivity) and audience of concern (all the world, not just us). And lest we stand there doing nothing more than pondering this Christ and His words, lest we stand a moment too long just looking, we will be asked, “why do you stand looking into heaven?” (v. 11) What are we just sitting here for? What is there to think through or fret about? All authority is given to Jesus in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18-20). Make disciples of all nations, teaching them His history-altering, nation-transforming, life-giving Word. Be, read, pray. Go.


Bruce Dare is a follower of Jesus, husband to Danielle, and father of three children, raising support for SLM to become Director of Publications. Having previously served on a pastoral staff for several years, Bruce intends to couple recent experience in logistics management and warehouse operations with formal education in church ministries and theological studies to serve in support of global discipleship. His most specific areas of interest and involvement are in leadership training, organizational administration, and cross-cultural resources.

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