Beautiful Eventually

Think about the promise of Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” This signifies that there will be unavoidable things in your life that appear to be ugly, unwanted, and uncomfortable.  No doubt, there are issues that immediately spring to mind — there’s nothing good about them as far as you can see.

Perhaps that’s because there are just too many overwhelming unknowns about your situation that blind you to the good God is doing.  Or maybe you’re simply so bogged down and disheartened by your load that you can’t imagine it ever getting any better.  Don’t be surprised that there are supposed to be seasons like that in your life (see 1 Pet. 4:12, 13).

Why does God burden us with such times?  The second part of Ecclesiastes 3:11 teaches, “He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end” Verse 14 adds, “Whatever God does, it shall be forever.”

Though you may never know everything God is doing in your life, you can always count on the fact that God is preparing your heart for eternity.  Second Corinthians 4:17 says, “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Your seasons of trials — however long and heavy they may seem — are brief and light compared to the great things God is doing in you (see Rom. 8:18-21, 28).

As you’ve been promised in Ecclesiastes 3:11, this difficult situation will eventually be beautiful in your sight.  Is that hard for you to envision?  It’s okay — because God’s wonderful plans for you are by definition beyond imagination (see Eph. 3:20, 21).  So until you see God’s lovely workmanship taking shape in your circumstances, just hold on to His promises. Eventually, this season will be over, and you’ll find that it was all worth it.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

A Time for Everything

“3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet^[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.”

Sources:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ecclesiastes+3%3A1-14&version=NIV

Stanley, Charles F. The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Daily Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007. Print.

http://herviewfromhome.com/words-for-my-heart/