Beautiful in His Time

You have surely heard the phrase “beautiful in its time,” right? It is so well known that many song lyrics, even song titles, use that phrase.

Yet sometimes an expression remains only an expression without us truly grasping its meaning ourselves. Especially when one problem after another keeps coming. Trial after trial strikes. Where is the beauty in it? Perhaps that is what we often ask.

Job is one biblical figure who endlessly experienced misery and suffering. In the book that records the whole struggle of his heart as he faced life’s trials, we can find the answer to that classic question. Let us look at the seasons Job went through and learn how everything can become beautiful in its time.

Happy Times

Each of us certainly has happy times in life. Times when everything goes as we hope and dream. Job described the happy times in his life in great detail in Job 29:1-25. He said, “When ears heard of me, they called me blessed, and when eyes saw me, they commended me” (Job 29:11).

Perhaps you once experienced, or are now experiencing, those happy and glorious times. When you are at the peak of your career, have a harmonious family, a loving spouse, are serving God, or are enjoying much favor. People hear about you and consider you blessed. They praise, appreciate, and even respect you.

Enjoy the times when everything is going well in life. Be thankful to the Lord for the happiness you feel. Yet we should always remember that everything we have actually belongs to God. What we have today may not always remain ours. As the saying goes, “The wheel of life keeps turning; sometimes we are up, and at times we are down.”

Difficult Times

Job 3:11 Why did I not die at birth, and perish when I came from the womb?

Have you ever felt as though the world suddenly stopped turning? Like Job, life does not always go the way we want. Difficulties can come at any time without warning, and there is nothing we can do to avoid them.

Perhaps you are facing an uncertain future, or a family that is falling apart. It may also be that your spouse has left you, or has stopped trying to build a good marriage. Perhaps you have failed at school, made no progress in your career, or even lost your job while still carrying many responsibilities. It is in times like these that we feel despair and feel that life is unfair.

Speaking of unfairness, of course what Job experienced was even more unfair. He did not suffer misfortune because of his own fault. But how did Job respond to all of it?

- Job Knew Exactly Who Holds the Power

When bad news came one after another in a single day, Job expressed his grief. He did not understand what was happening to him. But look at what he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!” (Job 1:21b)

He did not weep bitterly, lament his fate, grow angry, or feel shattered. Job knew that everything he had was a gift from God. He accepted it when God took back what had been given to him.

How many of us would respond like Job? Do we not often feel that what we have is the result of our own hard work and that no one has the right to take it away? Not rarely do we feel angry and treated unfairly when we lose what we have.

Yet when we truly know and are certain who holds power over our lives, then we can go through those difficult times with peace. We can even remain thank ful like Job!

- Job Remained Faithful to God

Shall we accept good from God, and not accept trouble? (Job 2:10) Often we bury disappointment when difficult times happen in our lives. Disappointment that we keep burying will become bitterness. We begin to doubt that God will give what is best for us. The question is, is that why we follow Christ? Are blessings and success our motivation for following Him?

Job did not stop loving God, whether in the happy times or the difficult times of his life. He remained faithful and accepted both good and bad in following the Lord.

Beautiful in His Time

As he went through difficult times and the greatest trials of his life, Job proved blameless in all of it. As it is written at the end of the book of Job, “The Lord blessed Jo b in the latter part of his life more than in the earlier part of his life .” (Job 42:12) Can you imagine it? This is what the Lord gave because of Job’s faithfulness in his difficult times:

• 7,000 sheep became 14,000 sheep
• 3,000 camels became 6,000 camels
• 500 yoke of oxen became 1,000 yoke of oxen
• 500 donkeys became 1,000 donkeys

Not only that, the Lord also added 140 years to Job’s life so that Job saw his children and grandchildren to the fourth generation (Job 42:16)! When we go through difficult times, we need to remember that life is not over yet. God is not finished with you. Like a quote many people often say, Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. If we continue to remain faithful to the Lord, then everything will be beautiful in its time! Or, more precisely, we could say, everything will be beautiful in His time!

I am reminded of the following verse: “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastens every one He acknowledges as His child” (Hebrews 12:6). Through difficult times, God’s purpose is not to abandon us or punish us. Like Job, there are times when we do not understand why bad things happen to us. But if we see it as a process, then everything will be beautiful in His time. Unbelievers also go through different seasons in life. Is it not better for us to go through all of that in God’s ways and under His protection? Let us learn to persevere and always remember that everything will be beautiful in His time!

* Church GKDI is currently in 35 cities. We have Bible Study activities in every area. If you need information or would like to get involved, contact us at contact Church GKDI Official: WhatsApp 0821 2285 8686 or Facebook / Instagram GKDI Official

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