By Kristen Robinson
Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Romans 8:28 – And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. I’ve always enjoyed mystery novels. I especially love a good whodunit – like the captivating stories by Agatha Christie. It’s fascinating how the author can take all of these complex details and weave them together throughout the story just to shock you in the last chapter as you suddenly put the puzzle pieces together and realize who the culprit was! All of the seemingly meaningless details along the way were finally all knit together to form this wonderful, totally surprising outcome.
Of course, these tales of mystery aren’t a surprise for the author. Agatha Christie knows all along that the unassuming clerk was the perpetrator. While the reader is taken on this perplexing ride through the plot, the author is actually guiding the reader the whole way so that the ending is a glorious surprise. Even though the reader is totally bewildered in Chapter Two, the author knows that by the end of the novel, the reader will appreciate the seemingly trivial details that were included earlier on.
I often feel that God’s timing works in a similar way. You’re no doubt familiar with the old saying “everything happens for a reason.” You can believe what you will on that, but I think that God works in mysterious ways. What may seem like an insignificance or even a setback in our lives may actually turn out to be part of God’s unique orchestration for our lives. Now, to be sure, we don’t always get to a certain point where we suddenly see the puzzle pieces come together like a magnificent mystery novel. Actually, we often don’t see it. But God does. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” This verse says that man cannot know what God has orchestrated “from beginning to end.” In fact, Acts 1:7 says, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”
God has a plan, and often it is impossible for us to fully know or comprehend. That realization is a hard pill to swallow, but we can find peace in knowing that His plans are good. God assures us in Jeremiah 29:11 that "I know the plans I have for you ... plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." He is a good father, with plans greater and more consequential than any we could imagine - which we can forever be grateful for. While our minds are mortal and our imaginations limited, our God has no limit and is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine," according to Ephesians 3:20-21. When you are struggling to find the beauty in your circumstances, I encourage you to meditate on God's Word and let these verses remind you that God makes everything beautiful in its time.
Jeremiah 29:11 - “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Passage Guide: Acts 13 & Psalm 20