“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11
God has been teaching me the importance of waiting upon Him. It’s written all over the place in the scriptures. If I simply followed what is written I would be in an attitude of waiting, not trying to make things happen on my own. I’ve learned by experience that failure to wait upon God can produce some very undesirable results!
The difference between something being ugly or beautiful is often just a matter of timing.
We’re told that God makes everything beautiful in it’s time, but why is that? Why is there a particular time for every matter under heaven, and why is it important to make sure that what we’re doing is done at the proper time?
A clue for me was found when I began to meditate upon Ecclesiastes 3:11. As I was doing a word study I noticed something that jumped out at me. The word that’s rendered “beautiful” in this verse actually has more meaning to it than that. The word can be faithfully translated as “appropriate”. In fact, this is exactly the way the NASB version translates it:
“He has made everything appropriate in its time”. -Ecc 3:11 NASB
Suddenly I understood!
God has an appropriate time for every matter. If I don’t choose the appropriate time, inappropriate things can happen!!
Something that might have been beautiful if we had only waited can actually be quite ugly if we don’t.
You’ve heard the expression, “Timing is everything”. Well, it really is!
It often comes down to appropriateness.
Whether something is appropriate or not often determines whether it is beautiful or ugly. The same thing that is beautiful in one season may be ugly in another.
When I reflect on this verse now, this is the way I paraphrase it:
“He has made all things appropriate, thus beautiful, in it’s time.”
It’s the appropriateness that makes something beautiful, and that only comes if we’re willing to wait for His time.
The temptation that we most often have is to rush into something because we have a desire for it. We may know deep down inside that it’s not the appropriate time but we push for it anyway. If you want to birth “ugly” go ahead and keep pushing! If you want to birth “beautiful” it’s always best to wait on God’s time.