“They have asked me EVERY few minutes ‘when will we go to Nana and Pop’s?’ It is driving me CRAZY. Next time, I will tell them we are going to Nana’s when we get in the car to leave.”

Our daughter was venting about how frustrating it is to have children impatiently look forward to something. Questions abound:
* Is it time yet?
* When are we going?
* How much longer ’til we leave?
And then they start repeating the questions. Endlessly.

It is hard for little ones to focus on today when they are looking forward to tomorrow.

Wait.

Did I just write “little ones”?

It is so true of ME. Someone asked me today if I was counting down the days until the end of school – I replied “No – I have too much to finish before the end.” If I start counting down – I will lose my focus on the tasks at hand.

We are so like children, aren’t we?

When one of my high school art students asks me what we are doing for our next project – I can be fairly certain that they have lost interest in what they are currently working on. The students who are fully engaged in their art work are not thinking about what they will do next – they are focused on the project at hand.

This applies to us spiritually as well. We often ask God things like –

* What will I do when my children go to school?
* What will I do when my children leave home?
* How will I ever handle…?
* What will I do when I retire?

We should be asking – “What do I do now?”

In Acts 1:6-7 the apostles are asking Jesus questions –

6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.

Notice it says – “they kept asking Jesus”. Jesus told them – “they are not for you to know.”

Why didn’t Jesus tell them what His Father had planned?

Could it be that the disciples would focus on the future instead of the present if they knew what was going to happen? Jesus wanted them to be faithful to their current ministry. I know I probably would have done the same. I might even think I could “fix” the future – you know, make it better.

God does not reveal everything to us. He has His reasons. Just as parents know when to withhold information, God knows what we can handle – and when we can handle it.

In the meantime, we must learn to walk by faith.

“No answer” does not mean that God isn’t present in our current situation or in control.

God may not answer so that we walk by faith, not by sight.