Ecclesiastes 3:11

“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.”

This verse is really packed with two important concepts: everything is beautiful in its time, and eternity being set in the human heart. Throughout the Bible, we hear about time: season of time and God’s timing. From the creation account, we learn that God placed the sun, the moon, and the stars in the heavens so that we could mark time. Time is important for us, even if it is less important to God. Later in the Bible, we are told that God views time differently than we do– “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8)

So what does it mean that everything is beautiful in its time? Not everything is beautiful. We know that. There are plenty of circumstances in life that are not beautiful. There are moments of trial and tribulation. There are times of lack. But the Word says that everything is beautiful in its time. Everything is beautiful when it comes in the proper season of our lives. When we allow our lives to be governed by God’s timing, the things we encounter and experience bring beauty, even if they are not beautiful in that moment. When we work with God during times of trial and tribulation, the harvest of fruit we reap is beautiful. God always gives beauty for our ashes. When we accomplish things in God’s timing, they fit beautifully into our lives without striving and without forcing them to fit.

What about eternity? What does it mean to have eternity set in our hearts? Ever wonder why there are certain concepts that seem to be universal? We don’t have to explain them to anyone, regardless of whether or not we have the same upbringing or background. We all understand them. Things like love, beauty, and hope. We all long for things in our life to feel fulfilled. We search and we seek after things that we think will satisfy our deepest inner longings.

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”

― Pascal

This is what the Bible means by saying that God has set eternity in the hearts of men. We have within us the knowledge that there is more to life–something that satisfies at a deep level. We all understand that the optimum level of living is one of satisfaction, of peace, and of contentment. God has given us this desire so that we will realize that only He satisfies and that life without Him is an endless pursuit of the next big thing to fill that longing.

It all comes back to our reliance on God. When we rely on God to order our steps and guide our lives, we experience things at the proper time. We experience beauty in all things because we look to what God is doing in us through that circumstance. And we experience a deep satisfaction and contentment because we are not filling our lives with useless things, but rather we are filling our lives with the very thing they need: the Spirit and presence of God.

Father, thank you that you cared enough about a relationship with me that you created me. You created me to have relationship with you. You created me to long for the kind of relationship that only You can provide. Thank you that when I rely on you to order my steps, you make everything beautiful. Even in the darkest of trials, I can see the beauty of your plan and appreciate your joy and your peace. Help me to keep my focus on you and on your timing for my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.