“And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” Acts 1:7

The Right to Decide   

When, O God? When will it rain—when will it stop raining? When will this pain go away? When will our loved ones be saved? When will our prayers be answered? When will we hear that longed-for trumpet from the heavens?

“When will You establish Your kingdom on earth?” the disciples asked. They were expecting a political ruler that would make everything okay again. Surely, Christ’s government would come through. Surely peace would reign on earth—and would prove that they weren’t fools for trusting the Father these past few years.

Jesus doesn’t answer their questions, except to say, “Only the Father gets to decide.” He knows how long it will be. He knows we are waiting for life to get better, for people to believe in Him, for the times and seasons of life.

We can take comfort in His perfect knowledge of all things—but this verse is saying so much more than that. It is saying that He not only knows, but He has AUTHORITY over the situations. He isn’t sitting and wringing His hands over man’s sin. He isn’t wondering what to do next. No—He has everything under His control. That’s what having authority means: someone invested with power—someone with the ability to DO. God, Who is self-created, has invested Himself with all authority.

To express the idea of authority in a simple way, let’s look at one familiar example: the water cycle. God has “authored” the evaporation/precipitation processes that send rain to the earth, and because He is the “author,” He has “authority”. He gets to make all decisions about it. He has authority over every aspect of the cycle—clouds, winds, high and low elevations, waters, gravity, planets, sunlight—everything that affects how it all works. He created every process, all the timing, seasons, days and nights—all choreographed as if it was an intricate dance. If one little thing goes wrong (which it never will because God has authority over it), it will all fall apart.

All of life is this way. The Author has authority. So when we ask “When? How? Why?”, we can be sure God is in control of it. He has decided when, how, and why. We can ask Him, but we can’t argue about the answer.

“God, may You be blessed forever. We are in awe of You—Your thoughtful creativity, Your creative thoughtfulness. We are unceasingly thankful that all things will come to pass exactly according to Your sovereign will. Help us be patient and content, always looking towards You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”