Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
This passage of scripture teaches us that there are times in the providence of God, when He sees fit to withhold a knowledge of future events from us, and He would have us understand that this is always done with our best interest in mind. There is a kind of uneasy curiosity which haunts the minds of some Christians, whilst others cannot rest contentedly unless they have a detailed plan stretching way into the future. But this is not God's manner of working with us, for then we would not need to exercise faith and trust in Him.
In the above passage the disciples were overly eager to find out when the long-looked for kingdom was going to be set up, but Christ tempered their curiosity by stating that the knowledge of such future events belonged to God alone, which in due time was to be revealed at His own discretion. If Christ had then told the disciples that the kingdom would not be set up for the next two thousand years, some of them might have become discouraged, as their bright hopes and dreams were to find fulfillment many centuries into the future.
The same reaction might have taken place with Joseph and his parents, if God had shared a detailed knowledge of future events with them. In this instance future events included being sold as a slave to a foreigner in a strange land, where the language would have to be learned by painstaking effort. But that's not all, because, included in the whole package was sabotage by his master's mistress, and consequent jail time for doing the right thing. Now, as parents looking into God's future plans, we would absolutely have a problem with the jail time, since our cute little Joseph would be faithful to truth and duty, and we would be certain to query God's wisdom and methods in passing the lad through such harrowing experiences.
But God who knows the end from the beginning is able to plan and execute His purposes to perfection, and therefore we who are finite should be willing and humble enough to follow where He leads the way, knowing that His plans and methods are always well thought out, and thus, no human improvements, suggestions, or additions can be made to the blueprints that have already passed His all-searching eye. Let's read:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Let us therefore not encourage a curious uneasiness about future events, both on a personal and national level, for whatever is to be will be, because God takes every possible thing into consideration, and His plans and their outcome are all done to perfection. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which should put our minds at rest concerning future events, for it is God who holds the future in His hands. Let's read:
Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!