“When [the disciples and Jesus] were together for the last time they asked, ‘Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?’ He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:6-8, The Message).’”
As I reading this last encounter between Jesus and the disciples before Jesus’ ascension, my eyes lit up with the contrast: “You don’t get the know the time; What you get is the Holy Spirit.”
What a beautiful phrase and promise! Jesus knew that the disciple would be disappointed with God’s timing, so he quickly shifted their attention to the greatest promise of all, “you’ll get the Holy Spirit.”
I believe that we still won’t get the time of Jesus’s second coming. But we do the get the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, I take this an inspiring promise in the midst of all our disappointments.
You won’t get instant success . . . . but you get the Holy Spirit.
You won’t get an answer to every prayer . . . but you get the Holy Spirit.
You don’t get a job immediately . . . but you get the Holy Spirit.
Personally, there are many things I’d like to have . . . but I will take the Holy Spirit!