Luke 18:34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

Sometimes it’s better that we don’t know what’s going on. Jesus needed to tell His disciples about the immediate future so that after it happened they could remember what he had said and be better able to understand events, and I think He also needed to be able to vent it for His own sake, because having that sort of thing looming would be enormously high stress. However, had the disciples grasped what He was saying, they would quickly have hatched all sorts of plans to prevent it, and that would have been disastrous. There’s a reason the Bible talks so much about faith! We need to trust that A, God is real, B, He has a plan for everything, C, that plan is good, (Jeremiah 29:11) and D, He isn’t going to drop us in the middle of it all. Often He says things to us that don’t really register until later, just as happened with the disciples here. That doesn’t mean we’re deficient, it just means we don’t need to understand those things yet. That in itself is a blow to our pride, but such pride just gets in the way anyway, so blows to it are to be welcomed! Many, many people have wanted to know when the Lord is going to return, starting with the first disciples. (Acts 1:6-7) As Jesus said then, that’s not for us to know ahead of time. We just need to be spiritually prepared so that when it does happen, it will be wonderful and not disaster for us. That’s actually how we need to be about everything, up to and including our own death. It’s as we grow spiritually that we are able to release everything to God and serve Him unhindered and with joy.

This is extremely timely for me. Yesterday was my last day of teaching in the Speech Therapy Department of Nagasaki Rehabilitation College, and as I left the building the staff and 2^nd year students lined the hall and presented me with a huge bouquet of flowers. I was certainly touched, but it’s going to be a bit weird going back next week to give exams! I’ve ended jobs before but never retired, and the feelings are complex. It’s all the more complicated because I’ll be teaching in the nursing school from September and teaching the 1^st year Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy students from October, but all of those will wind up within the calendar year. It’s not fun feeling old! I’m realizing what a blessing it was to my father that the Lord took him home at 64, and he never had to retire. I’m also realizing that it can be a curse to have no responsibility, but at the same time I know that I always have the responsibility to listen obediently to my Lord, whatever He is telling me to do. It’s been several years now since He told me to rest, relax, and rejoice. I need to remember and apply that now, and delight in His grace and love.

Father, thank You for this clear Word. I don’t like feeling unimportant, but my importance to You hasn’t changed in the least. Help me recognize each task You have for me at the appropriate time, not being anxious about it ahead of time, and do it with my whole heart for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!