Hey there! Well, my AC is fixed, which means that all systems are go for this week's triathlon and for spending a couple of days at the beach, assuming the waves are at least 3 feet. Today I got in my 5 miles in Farmville. The weather was gorgeous.
During my walk I thought about the concept of "time." One the one hand, time is the passing of days, weeks, months, and years. Think of a ticking clock or a page turning in your desk calendar. But when I say, "When I turned 24 I knew it was time for me to marry Becky," I'm not talking about a glance at my watch. I was thinking, not about time, but about timing, specifically God's timing. A new season was about to dawn in my life -- the season of marriage -- even as that fall a new season was beginning for me occupationally as I entered the classroom for the first time. When asked to teach Greek by the head of the Greek Department at Biola, I thought he must be talking to someone else. "What? Me, a Greek teacher?" I said to the Lord. "Yes you," he said. 45 years later, when I was informed that I would be retiring, I said, "What, Lord? Am I really at retirement age?" And he replied, "Yes, son, you are."
Every one of these milestones was God's timing. It was the right thing, a divinely arranged intervention when God stepped in and carried out his plan. When this happens, it won't always seem right or good to us. But we can be sure that God works all things together for good. Some things are done immediately by him. Others are only permitted by him. But the fact remains: "God makes everything beautiful in its time" (Eccl. 3:11) because they ultimately advance his wisest and greatest purpose. I love how God's Word renders this verse: "It is beautiful how God has done everything at the right time."
Friend, you'll have a smoother life when you realize that God has a master plan for your life that's unfolding according to his timing. Much of what happens to you won't be obvious to you at the time. But you can be certain that what you are living out is what God has arranged for you to experience, and all of it is "beautiful."