Go! And Trust the God Who Makes Everything Beautiful in Its Time
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT): “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
Introduction – The Ache for More
Have you ever felt that deep longing—that ache in your soul—that no matter how much success you achieve, how many experiences you gather, or how many possessions you accumulate, it still doesn’t quite satisfy?
That ache is the imprint of eternity. It is the whisper of God’s Spirit reminding us that we were made for more than this fleeting world. Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, captures this truth with piercing clarity.
Ecclesiastes is not a book written from a naïve perspective. It is penned by Solomon, a man who had tasted everything life could offer—wealth, wisdom, power, pleasure—and yet he declared so much of it “meaningless” without God.
And in chapter 3, verse 11, Solomon makes this staggering statement:
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
Here, we find the tension of the human condition: God’s beauty and order in creation, the eternal longing within us, and our limited human vision of His grand plan.
This morning, we will see three vital truths:
God makes everything beautiful in His time.
God has planted eternity in our hearts.
Only in Jesus Christ do we see and experience God’s eternal plan.
1. God Makes Everything Beautiful in His Time
The Hebrew word for “beautiful” here is yapeh (?????), which carries the sense of something fitting, appropriate, and lovely. Solomon is telling us that God, in His sovereignty, orchestrates the events of life so that in His timing, all things are made fitting and right.
Think about Joseph’s story. Betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, wrongly imprisoned. And yet at the end of it all, Joseph could say in Genesis 50:20 (NLT):
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”
This is the mystery of providence—God weaving beauty out of brokenness.
John Piper once wrote: “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”
That resonates with me, because often we cannot see the beauty in the moment, but God is at work behind the scenes.
Think of a tapestry. From the underside, it looks messy—threads knotted, colours mismatched. But turn it over, and you see the stunning design. That is our lives in God’s hands. We may see the knots and tangles, but He sees the masterpiece.
For us in the 21st century, when life feels chaotic, when illness strikes, when jobs are lost, when relationships crumble—our comfort is not in our control but in His timing. Trust that His beauty is being woven, even when you cannot yet see it.
2. God Has Planted Eternity in Our Hearts
Solomon continues: “He has planted eternity in the human heart.”
The Hebrew word for “eternity” is ?olam (??????), meaning an unending, everlasting duration. God has placed within us a yearning for the infinite, for something beyond time.
C.S. Lewis described this so beautifully in Mere Christianity: “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
This longing explains why human beings across cultures, throughout history, have pursued religion, art, philosophy, and science. There is a hunger in the human spirit that cannot be filled by the temporal.
Psalm 42:1–2 (NLT): “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?”
Just as thirst points to the reality of water, so our spiritual longing points to the reality of God.
Charles Stanley once said: “The Lord plants within us an unquenchable desire to know Him, and until we respond to that desire with faith, we remain restless.”
Imagine a homing pigeon. No matter where it is released, it instinctively knows the way home. Humanity is like that—we are restless wanderers until we find our way back to God.
Many in our culture try to silence this longing with distractions—career, entertainment, possessions. But no matter how much we stuff into that God-shaped hole, only Jesus Christ fills it.
3. Only in Jesus Christ Do We See God’s Eternal Plan
Solomon finishes: “But even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
Our perspective is limited. We see fragments, but God sees the whole. And here lies the Gospel: in Jesus Christ, the eternal God steps into time to reveal His plan.
John 1:14 (NLT): “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”
In Christ, eternity broke into history.
2 Timothy 1:9–10 (NLT): “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Saviour. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.”
Only in Jesus does the eternal plan of God become clear. His death on the cross was not an accident—it was the eternal design of God for our salvation. His resurrection is the guarantee of eternal life.
Tim Keller once wrote: “The resurrection means not merely that Christians have hope beyond the grave but that they have hope that this world matters—that every inch of creation will be renewed.”
This is the beauty Solomon points to, fulfilled in Christ: everything made beautiful in God’s time, culminating in resurrection and restoration.
Gospel Presentation:
Friend, hear me clearly: you were created for eternity, but sin separates you from the God who made you. Romans 3:23 (NLT) says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
But the good news is this: Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, came into our broken world, lived the life we could not live, died the death we deserved, and rose victorious.
Romans 6:23 (NLT) declares: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
By repentance—turning away from sin—and by faith—trusting in Jesus as Lord and Saviour—you receive forgiveness, peace with God, and eternal life.
Call to Action:
Believers, trust the God who makes all things beautiful in His time. Don’t live restless lives chasing temporary pleasures—rest in Christ.
Seek to live each day in the light of eternity. Share this hope with others, because the longing in their hearts is the same eternity God has planted in you.
If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, today is the day of salvation. Don’t ignore the longing in your heart. That is eternity calling you home to God through Christ.
Invitation to Salvation:
If you have never trusted Jesus, I invite you now. Confess your sin. Believe in Him. Receive Him as Lord and Saviour. Pray from your heart:
“Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner in need of Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the grave. Today I turn from my sin and trust You as my Lord and Saviour. Take my life and make it Yours.”
If you prayed that with faith, welcome into the eternal family of God.
Conclusion – Benediction:
Beloved, remember: God makes everything beautiful in His time. He has planted eternity in your heart. And in Christ, His eternal plan is revealed.
So go! And live as people of eternity in a temporary world. Share the hope of Jesus. Walk by faith, not by sight. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit go with you always. Amen.
