Beautiful in His Timing
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” - Ecclesiastes 3:11
It doesn’t take long to see the world is a chaotic place. Take a look at your phone or turn on the news and it seems as if every story is a new catastrophe.
When we find ourselves overwhelmed by what’s going on in the world or in our personal lives, Scripture is the best place to turn. All throughout the Word, God lovingly reminds us that He is in control and He is taking care of us.
One of my favorite verses to recall in times when I’m worried about the outcome of something is Ecclesiastes 3:11. This verse offers two main hopes for us to hold onto:
- God will make everything beautiful in its time. The word beautiful here means “good, pleasant, well”. Whatever is going on in our lives, whether it be chaotic or peaceful, something that’s easy to praise God for or something that really makes us question His goodness, we can be sure that God is using all things for His glory and our good (Romans 8:28). We can cling to this truth and hold fast to God’s promise that, as Julian of Norwich said it, “All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.”
- God is in control and is preparing us for eternity. Can you fathom eternity? It makes my brain hurt trying to do so! But the author of Ecclesiastes says that God has “set eternity in the human heart.” Even when the world is filled with chaos and fear, we can rest assured that one day Jesus will bring Heaven to earth and, as J. R. R. Tolkien says it “All the sad things will come untrue.” We may not be able to understand God is all His majesty and mystery, but we can trust that He cares for us and is with us in all things.
I’ll leave you with what Theologian Alexander Maclaren says about this verse: “My brother [or sister]! God has put eternity in your heart. Not only will you live for ever, but also in your present life you have a consciousness of that eternal and infinite and all-sufficient Being that lives above. You have need of Him, and whether you know it or not, the tendrils of your spirits, like some climbing plant not fostered by a careful hand but growing wild, are feeling out into the vacancy in order to grasp the stay which they need for their fruitage and their strength.”
In the midst of it all, may our spirits reach for Christ, the one who holds all things and in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:17).