“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 (NIV)
“God has made everything beautiful in its time.” This alone, is such an awesome and inspiring phrase, it could be made into a poster and framed. It emphasizes the truth that God’s timing is always perfect, and therefore, we can never go wrong to pray for His timing and trust that everything will work out beautifully.
There are many different ways to apply this scripture and make it relevant to our lives. It could mean that every baby born in its time, is beautiful, whether premature, full term, completely healthy or not. It could also refer to a person in a Nursing Home, who despite their age or mental health, is beautiful in their own time and state of being. It could give us peace when we have chaotic days and nothing is going according to schedule, yet God is working out His perfect timing and purpose for the situation.
There are many stories in scripture, regarding God’s perfect timing. An angel told Sarah that she would have a son in the coming year. It all seemed absurd to her, because she was ninety years old at the time, but it happened. (Genesis 18:14)
The prophet Habakkuk is the only prophet to devote his entire work to the question of God’s justice in the world, and he said that every vision or prophetic word spoken by the Lord has an appointed time for its fulfillment. (Habakkuk 2:3)
It gives us hope and confidence to trust that, despite all the problems, sorrows or injustices in the world, God is guiding every person’s life with purpose, grace and most of all, His appointed time. We need His perfect timing in every aspect of our lives. Everything is beautiful when we pray and ask for His timing, not ours.
My son was overdue for a CT scan of his brain, to check a shunt device that was placed a year ago to drain excess fluid from his brain. The appointment was finally made but the radiology lab doesn’t sedate patients, and the scan requires lying very still. I learned that his scan was ordered with and without contrast, which means they would need to place an IV in his arm to inject dye, and then do two scans.
I asked friends to pray that he would be cooperative, since he is confused and doesn’t follow commands. A few weeks ago, a nurse at his Nursing Facility tried to draw his blood, but he was so uncooperative, they had to cancel it.
As the date drew nearer for his CT appointment, there were many friends and relatives praying that he would lie still for the time needed to get a readable scan. I also prayed for God’s perfect timing, that He would have the right people involved, which includes the nurse who places his IV, the Tech who scans him, the ambulance drivers who take him there, the NH caregiver who escorts him, and even the doctor who reads the scan afterward. God’s perfect timing can bring the most perfectly helpful people to every situation.
Yesterday was his appointment and as the ambulance brought him from the Nursing Home, I drove from my home to meet them in the CT department of the hospital. I arrived extra early, and was surprised to learn that his scan was already in progress. The ambulance arrived earlier than the scheduled time and they took him right in.
A few minutes later they told me it was finished and I could enter the room. The CT tech said that Jon was “very good”, which were the two most beautiful words I could have heard in the moment. I saw the IV in his arm, which meant he cooperated enough to tolerate the needle catheter to receive the contrast dye.
I am positive that the scan was a success only because of the many prayers, which God answered by having all the right people involved. I told the tech, the escort, and the ambulance drivers that they were all answers to many people’s prayers that day.
God truly makes everything beautiful in its time. Praying and asking for His perfect timing in whatever we need, helps us to become more aware of His purpose and grace working in our lives. Thank you to all who prayed, and today I am waiting for the results of the scan.
Lord, everything is truly beautiful in its time. Help us to always seek your perfect timing in every aspect of our lives. Amen
