Romans 1:1-4
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 1:17
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 10:17
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
The Benefits of Advance Knowledge
If you could know one thing in advance, what would it be? Whom you’ll marry? Where you’ll go to college? Where you’ll live? Who will become the next president? What is it that you’d like to know, and would knowing the answers to these questions solve your life problems?
Knowing things in advance would reduce our anxiety to some extent. Imagine if we knew which questions would be on an exam, whether we would get into a certain college or land a particular job, or even who would win the World Cup: If we knew such things in advance, we would be less stressed about them, and we could relax and enjoy life more. Think about how comfortably we could live if we knew which stocks would rise or fall, or what the winning lottery numbers would be! And knowing things in advance could allow us to avoid making mistakes too. It’s safe to assume that knowing things in advance has its benefits. Unfortunately, the reality is we cannot know most things in advance. But there is one thing that God has allowed us to know in advance—and that is His Will.
God Reveals His Will in Advance Through the Word
God always reveals His Will to us in advance and lets people prosper and succeed if they live according to that Will. How does God reveal His Will in advance? It’s through the Word that God speaks through the people He sends in each time period. In the Old Testament, God spoke through Abraham before judging Sodom, Jonah before judging Nineveh, and Noah before judging with the flood. God has never revealed His Will to everyone all at once, but He reveals it to one person, the person of mission of that time period, and through that person He reveals His Will to everyone through the Word.
Therefore, whatever question you want to know in advance, look for an answer in the Bible. There is great value in trusting in God, just as it says in Proverbs 3:6, “in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
God’s Will Is Unchanging
We can also take comfort in knowing that the one thing that will remain on Earth, until the end, is God’s Word and Will. God has never and will never go back on His Word, so no matter what the situation or circumstance, He will still ultimately carry out His Will. Therefore, regardless of whether there are difficulties in the process, the outcome of God’s history is already decided in advance. In the Bible, God’s people were constantly persecuted and went through so many difficulties. This was especially true for Jesus. Jesus tried so hard to deliver the Word to the Jews, but still so many people didn’t listen. However, God still ultimately fulfilled His Will through Jesus and made His history prosper. Therefore, even though we might not know everything in advance, as long as we know God’s Will in advance, that is enough!
Know the Timing of God’s Will
When it comes to God’s Word in the Bible, there are important questions that people really want to know in advance. “When will Jesus come back?” is the most burning question in Christianity because knowing the answer to this question can help discern God’s true history.
Because of the promise of Jesus’ return, Christians have maintained hope for 2000 years, despite all the tribulations throughout Christian history. It’s like enduring the cold of winter, knowing that the warmth of spring is coming. And during the wait before the set time arrives, God helps people’s faith to endure. But imagine if you are oblivious to the time of the final Advent, then you will start to lose patience and hope after having waited a very long time and still seen nothing happen. Without that hope and drive, it’s hard to proceed in life in the face of difficulties. That’s why it’s important to discern time well. Like it says in Matthew 16:3, we can discern the weather by the appearance of the sky, but why can’t we discern God’s time, which is like the seasons, by the signs of the times?
God carries out his Will and history with people who are in the know. So rather than focusing on life’s difficulties, look towards God instead and know His history, know about Jesus, know about the Trinity, and know God’s Will. Then with this knowledge, your faith will be strong, and your hope will endure to get you through life.
