The Mercy of Not Knowing | Restoring Warriors Daily Devotional | Matthew 24:36

In Matthew 24:36, Jesus makes something very clear: no one knows the day or the hour of His return—only the Father.

And that’s not meant to frustrate us. It’s mercy.

If people knew the exact day Christ would return, many would delay repentance and wait until the last possible moment to get serious about God. But in His wisdom, God removed that option.

Why?

Because the unknown creates urgency.
 And urgency calls us to live ready today.

This means we don’t put off obedience. We don’t delay surrender. We don’t wait for a “better time” to take our faith seriously.

Every day we wake up is another chance to align our lives with Christ and point others to Him while there is still time.

The real question isn’t when Jesus will return.

The real question is:
 Will you be ready when He does?

Big Question:
If Jesus returned today, what areas of your life would need to be realigned with Him?

Challenge:
Live today with spiritual urgency. Spend intentional time with God, examine your heart honestly, and share your faith with at least one person this week.

Prayer:
Lord, thank You for Your mercy and patience. Help me live ready, obedient, and bold. Use my life to point others to You while there is still time. Amen.

Transcript

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Alright, they would live however they wanted and plan to get right with God at the last possible moment. Hey, welcome to the Restoring Warriors Daily Devotional, where every day we challenge men to live boldly for Christ. Hey, Restoring Warriors is a men's ministry, and what we do is we equip men to become disciples who lead their families, communities, and faith walks with strength and conviction. And every week we meet in person in Denver, Colorado, but we're currently launching new groups nationwide and also building an online brotherhood. So to get involved, visit restoring warriors.com, click find a group. You can join our community. You can you can join a group that might be near you, or you can start one of your own. And hey, make sure before we get going, click the subscribe button so you don't miss a day. Hey, so we're continuing on in the book of Matthew. We're still in chapter 24. We're Matthew 24, and this is verse number 36, and it says this this is Jesus speaking here. But about that day or hour, no one knows. Not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. All right, guys, throughout history, people have tried to predict the exact moment of Jesus' return. All right, major world events spark speculation, and people start calculating timelines, and predictions start circulating across headlines and across social media. But Jesus makes something very clear in this verse that no one knows the day or the hour. All right, and the statement isn't meant to frustrate us, it's actually an act of mercy on behalf of the Lord. All right, if humanity knew the exact day that Christ would return, many people would delay repentance. All right, they would live however they wanted and plan to get right with God at the last possible moment, right? They understand that part where Jesus says the last will be first. All right, but but God in his wisdom and his mercy, he removed that option altogether. All right, because the timing is unknown, every day becomes an opportunity to turn towards him. All right, the uncertainty it creates urgency, and urgency opens the door for repentance. And for believers, this changes how we live. We don't wait for a future moment to take our faith seriously. We live ready today. We pursue obedience today, we share the gospel today. Every sunrise, every sunrise is a reminder. All right, today's another chance to align your life with Christ and invite others to do the same. So the question is not if Jesus will or won't return, he will. The question is whether we're we're living ready when he does return. All right, so let's take this a little bit deeper. Pull out your journal. I'm gonna ask you a question, reflect on this question and see what comes up. And here it is. If Jesus returned today, what areas of your life would you want to realign with him? And here's your challenge live today with spiritual urgency. Spend time with God, examine your heart and intentionally share your faith with at least one person this week. Let's pray. Lord, thank you. Thank you for your mercy and your patience. Thank you for giving us time to turn our hearts fully towards you. Lord, help me live each day ready, faithful, obedient, and bold in sharing the gospel. Father, use my life to point others to you while there's still time. It's in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Hey, thank you for tuning in today. If you are encouraged by this devotional, I encourage you to send it off to a friend. Make sure you like, make sure you subscribe. Go visit our website, restoringwarriors.com, get involved in the online community, join a small group, sign up to lead a small group. Listen, we're here to equip men to pursue Christ wholeheartedly. And I love doing these devotionals with you each and every day. Can't wait to see you on the next one.