In Luke 18:31–34, Jesus plainly tells the disciples that He will be betrayed, mocked, killed, and raised on the third day, yet Scripture says they couldn’t understand because it was “hidden from them.” This reminds us that while we long for clarity and want to see God’s full plan for our lives, sometimes He intentionally withholds understanding until the right time. Just as the disciples didn’t need to grasp every detail because the saving work belonged to Jesus alone, we too are called not to control the plan but to trust the One who does. In seasons where God’s answer feels like “not yet” or “no,” we’re invited to rely on His timing, His goodness, and His quiet work behind the scenes, believing that He will reveal what we need to know when the time is right.

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Good morning, friends. It’s good to be with you on this Tuesday morning.
I hope you’re well and your day is off to a good start. It’s always good to begin our time together each morning digging into God’s Word and seeing what truth the Scriptures have for us.

Today’s passage is going to talk a lot about wisdom — what we know, what we don’t know, what we understand, and what we simply can’t understand yet.

Let’s read Luke 18:31–34:

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“Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
For He will be handed over to the Gentiles; He will be mocked and insulted and spat upon.
After they have flogged Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again.’
But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what He said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.”

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Jesus is very clear throughout the Gospels about what awaits Him in Jerusalem. He tells the crowds, and He tells His disciples again and again. He will be betrayed. He will be mocked, beaten, and killed. And on the third day He will rise.

Jesus knows exactly what is coming, and He’s preparing His friends for it.
But even so — they don’t get it.
They don’t see it.
They don’t hear it.
They don’t understand it.

And today the Scripture is clear: “What He said was hidden from them.”

Sometimes we see the disciples miss the point because of their own stubbornness or lack of faith. Jesus gets frustrated with them more than once. But that’s not what’s happening here.

Here, God is deliberately not letting them understand — not yet.

And that hits home for me, and maybe for you too.
Because I want to know everything.
I want to understand God’s plan.
I want to see what He’s doing with my life, with my church, with the people I love.
I don’t like not knowing.

But sometimes — God doesn’t let us know.

We see this throughout Scripture.
Paul wanted to sail into Greece earlier, and the Spirit prevented him.
Paul prayed three times for that thorn in the flesh to be removed, and God said, “My grace is sufficient.” In other words, No.

Sometimes the “no” is temporary — like Paul being redirected and later sent to Macedonia.
And sometimes the “no” is permanent — like the thorn.

But either way, sometimes God says,
“You’re not going to know this right now.
Not yet.”

And I don’t love that.
My heart wants explanations.
I want clarity.
I want certainty.

But if we knew everything… would faith even be necessary?
Would trust be required?
Would leaning on the everlasting arms still matter?

The disciples didn’t need to know every detail at that moment because the work wasn’t theirs to do.
They weren’t going to save the world — Jesus was.
They weren’t going to die for our sins — Jesus was.
They weren’t going to set things right — that would be Jesus.

Their job wasn’t to control the plan — it was simply to receive what God was doing and be faithful with it.

And the same is true for us.

Today, you may be in a situation where there are some things you desperately want to understand — about your family, your work, your health, your children, your parents, your future.

And maybe God isn’t telling you right now… because it’s not time.
Maybe it wouldn’t even help you right now to know the whole picture.

God reveals His truth in His time — in kairos time — not in our time.

So if you’re in a season where God’s answer seems to be “Not now” or even “No”…
may God give you the grace to trust Him.
To trust His timing.
To trust His goodness.
To trust that He is working even when you don’t understand.

Because He is.
And in His time, He’ll bring it all together.

Thanks for being with me today.
Tomorrow we’ll pick up with the rest of Luke 18.
Have a great day.