“He makes all things beautiful in His time” Ecclesiastics 3:11
Aloha Girls!
I have always liked the idea behind this verse in Ecclesiastics; God makes all things beautiful in His time. The phrase sounds lovely. Yet, at times, it’s hard to swallow its truth! I can forget I’m a work in progress. I’d like God’s plan to unfold now. I don’t like to wait. Sure, we know God has a plan + purpose for everything in our lives but sometimes His plans are taking waaay too long. They can involve people you don’t want to be with. Let’s speed up the process. Move things along… Can you relate?
You may be in a good place right now. You love how God’s plan is unfolding in your life. That’s a great place to be! For others; you don’t like the plan; too much pain, too many irritating circumstances that you’d like to remove! But the Lord doesn’t want us to grow weary in our waiting. We can find encouragement in His Word.
Eph. 3:10 states an incredible truth to claim. We are called God’s workmanship! That means we are His careful work of art, an original one of a kind. His masterpiece! Have you ever viewed yourself as God’s masterpiece? God IS the Master Craftsman. As an artist: He wants to express Himself on the canvas of your life. He uses the full spectrum of colors both dark and light to make something beautiful. As a potter: His desire is to mold and shape you into His image. Life can feel like a lump of clay. You are placed on a spinning wheel, with lots of pounding and prodding, then the hot oven, the glazing… All part of the process to make a beautiful work of art. Mike has told me often, “Karen, enjoy the process… you can’t skip steps!”
Maybe you wonder, how can God possibly use ALL things in my life; this frustrating, irritating, painful thing? Well, last week we walked Sadie to Alii beach and a sticker got lodged in my shoe. I knew it was a sticker not a small pebble because every step I took, it was poking prickly pain in my foot; up and down and all around. My natural reaction: STOP and remove it! You don’t keep walking with a sticker poking pain in your foot. You get rid of the irritation however you can. BUT what if I’d had a blister instead. You can’t remove that! But you could put on a band aid to cover it. To protect it until it heals.
Reminds me of the story of how a pearl is formed! Did you know pearls are the product of pain and irritation? I had forgotten this! J A pearl begins its story, inside an oyster shell. It starts with a struggle of some kind from a foreign substance, like a tiny grain of sand slipping between the mantle and the shell. It’s very irritating for the oyster like getting a splinter - OUCH! The Oyster’s natural reaction is to cover up the irritant to protect itself. It doesn’t try to remove the splinter like we would do. Instead it covers the irritant with layers of a substance called ‘Nacre’ and as a result – a beautiful dazzling pearl is formed. BUT… it takes years of applying layers upon layers of this substance to form a beautiful pearl. Some say 3-6 years! In the same way: God often allows irritating things in our lives to create beauty. Sometimes they are left, for weeks, months, even years with no resolution and they try the very fiber of our being!
“Consider it pure joy, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect + complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4
James isn’t saying, just pretend to be happy, but to consider your trial as opportunity for joy. Why? Every irritation that enters our lives, every little thing we fret about, is another opportunity to make a pearl; to become more like Christ! Rather than trying to remove the irritant, let’s acknowledge our dependence upon HS to help us respond rightly. To protect ourselves by coating each situation in prayer, layer upon layer with love, with kindness, forgiveness…layer upon layer forming a beautiful thing. Sounds impossible? Worship is a powerful weapon against the enemy. We can add layer upon layer of praise to God protecting our heart from bitterness + unbelief. Love the song: I Raise a Hallelujah. Let’s surrender it all to Him. Allow Jesus to make ALL things beautiful in your life.
Blessings, Karen