This is Acts 1:6–7:

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

Well, it doesn't take long, as I've already stated, for us to be confronted with the limits and confusions of the disciples' understanding. Here's the question on their minds, “Will you at this time restore the kingdom?” I mean, this exposes that these guys really didn't understand the message, ministry, and plan of Jesus. They actually thought that because of the victory of the resurrection and the promise of the Spirit, that the restoration of the nation of Israel was going to happen pretty soon. What they envisioned was a political and military kingdom where Rome was defeated and the glory of the nation of Israel would be destroyed.

Think about this. These disciples, that Jesus would use to build his church, didn't have a clue–not clue one! Even though they had listened to Jesus interpret Scripture and teach about the nature of the kingdom of God, they had failed to understand the most basic of things. Now this is why the gift of the Holy Spirit was and is so essential. Jesus had promised them that he would send another teacher. But you have to ask yourself the question, “How can these men ever spread the gospel and build the church with this lack of understanding?”

Well, here are the later words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:12-16.

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

You see, God doesn't call people to himself and his service because they are able, but because he is almighty. And the disciples are making the mistake of focusing on ‘when’ when they should have been concerned about ‘what’ and ‘how.’ And like the disciples, you and I have no ability, whatsoever, to understand God, to understand his truth, to understand his plan for us, to understand his will for the ages. Any biblical or theological understanding we have is a gracious and undeserved gift of the Holy Spirit.

But there's more revealed in this passage. There are things that God has lovingly revealed to us, these are all we need “for life and godliness,” but there are things that God, for our good, holds in secret from us. We call this the “secret will of God” because, guess what, it's secret! It's a waste of spiritual time and energy to try to figure out the secret will of God. These are things that are fixed in the authority of God that are simply not our right to know and not within our ability to comprehend. Like the disciples, our lives are meant to be shaped by what God has lovingly revealed to us. For us, that's the Bible, which in the exercise of his power, God graciously recorded and preserved for us.

It's our map. It provides the guardrails for our living. In all of your wondering, in all of your confusion, remember you're just like the disciples. So keep telling yourself, over and over again, on a Tuesday morning, on a Wednesday night, on a confusing Thursday, what has been revealed is enough. What has been revealed is enough. What has been revealed is enough!

Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion

1. Take a moment to pause and reflect on the graciousness of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit in your life if you are a Christian. How has the Holy Spirit changed you over time in real ways that you can see? How have you witnessed his power and presence in your life as you think about what you have learned and applied from the Bible?

2. Why do you think it’s so easy to be bothered and maybe frustrated by the things that God, for our good, holds in secret from us? Why do you think it’s a waste of spiritual time and energy to try and figure out the secret will of God?

3. Why is the Bible enough in terms of what God has revealed to us about himself and who we are to be as his children? In what specific ways can you respond to his biblical revelation for your life? Even though it might be confusing to you, why can you still trust the goodness and reliability of Scripture?

4. How and in what ways is God using Scripture to change you from the inside out?

Conversation Prompts to Use with Children

For Younger Children:

  • When someone becomes a Christian, God the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of them—how does God living inside you actually help you to change and become more and more like Jesus?
  • Why do you think God doesn’t tell us everything about his will for our lives? How do we know we can trust him even when we don’t understand all the ways he works in our lives?
  • Why is it so important to read the Bible? How can the Bible help us to understand what God has planned for us? Why can we trust in the Bible?

For Older Children:

  • In what ways is the Holy Spirit changing you and making you more like Jesus each day?
  • Why does God choose to keep certain parts of his will for our lives a secret? How can following him (even when we don’t understand what he has planned) work each day for us?
  • Why do you think a relationship with God is more important than knowing everything about his plans for our lives? In what ways can you and I pursue that relationship with him in community with each other? How can I be praying for you right now?