Candice Irion: An Awe-Full Perspective Shakes the Sting of the Bad

"That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God," (Ecc.3:13"

"He has made everything beautiful in His time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end," (Ecc. 3:11).

These verses really helped me to shift my perspective on some things and I thought I'd share.

When we look at our lives, taking all the good with all the bad, it is hard to imagine that the bad stuff could possibly be beautiful.

But when we look at verse 14, we see something interesting and hard for man to fully understand. "God does it so that men will revere Him."

Thus, are we to say that when we encounter horrific circumstances that these are beautiful? We probably would not. Wouldn't we humans instead say that these times are terrifying! Devastating! Sheer awful?

When I look at the stuff I've encountered, can I say it was beautiful? Well, at first glance, I see a major mess; one that nearly killed me.

But, holding onto the above Scriptures and glancing again, I find something new.

I find that the beauty lies in what God did with

the horrible, the devastating, the sheer awful.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose," (Rom. 8:28).

I look at how God took the bad that was done to me and the bad/stupid things I've done to others and am amazed at how He's redeemed both.

I remember praying so hard for the bad being done to me to turn around and go a different direction. When I didn't get what a pleaded, it was really hard to take. But since, I've experienced how He's changed things around for a better that I never even knew existed.

I've also seen how He's taken circumstances where I was in the wrong, where I did bad/stupid and have witnessed how He worked it out.

In the midst of both circumstances, I couldn't see how God was going to work anything good of it, which thus, leads me to issue an all out: WARNING!

**If you are currently in a pit of despair, you may hate everything I'm saying. I get that. Like you, I have had times in my own pit. And pit-view is anything but: "It's sunny on the other side, come and see. Things do get better." Far from it!!!

So, I issue a disclaimer: Please know that seeing "the better" came much farther down the road; years and years after my pit-time. While I was in my pit, I just wanted my prayer to be answered the way I wanted it to go. Granted, I did pray for God's will to supersede my own and that it did. Then, it took me a while to accept God's will and move forward. It took me even longer to see what God had in store and develop a heart of "thank you for showing me what you did." I still don't prefer how/what happened but, I know that I saw God act dramatically in that time and am thankful for how He carried me through.

So, hold off on this reading this post if it doesn't don't fit where you are on your timetable. If these words resound and encourage your heart, then great. If not, set them aside for when is best for you.**

That said...

When I go back to Ecclesiaties and read Solomon's words of: "finding satisfaction in all His toil" and "all things are beautiful in their time" my heart is encouraged to shift my perspective in what I view as negative and re-perceive it through the lens of God's beauty in it all.

So, let's do this together.

Make a list (either a mental or a physical one) of all the bad that has occurred in your life. Then counter it by the blessings that have come out of the bad. When I do this, I gain a better view of the beauty God is crafting. How'd it work out for you?

If you need another take on it, try Joyce Meyer's Beauty from Ashes, one of my favorite books. It is a must read, especially in "Pit-time". The book is based out of Isaiah's 61st chapter and if you haven't read this chapter, it is a wonderful representation of what Christ does for each of us. Let's read a portion of it:

"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion--

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning

and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair..."

(Is. 61: 1-3)

Now, let's return to Ecclesiastes 3 and read the first part of the passage, pausing frequently to apply each phrase to our own lives, adding examples where you can. I.E. "A time to tear down and a time to build. I remember this time in my life when God and I had tear _______ down. I remember when God and I built _______." Give it a go and see.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace."

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

When I apply both passages to my life, my new perspective forms an even deeper root. I can now go a step further to say... "Ok. God, when we through XYZ, that was beautiful because it was with You, and what You did with it. Hm... Wow." (At this moment, you may or may not be able to take this step, nor want to. That's ok, for right now. However, if you are, then that's great too. We've all gone and will go through both.)

For it seems that God has carved out a specific time for us to travel with Him down each of these seasons of life. Thus, instead of repelling the bad season because it is bad, let us try to accept it and instead, focus on what God did through it. Doing this will help our hearts shift from having an awful perspective to having an awe-full perspective.

And living in this awe-full perspective will continually help adjust our viewpoint of the bad, especially when the bad is staring at us head-on (not just in hindsight). We will then be able to march forward understanding that somehow, He will make all things beautiful in their time.

"All Things Bright and Beautiful"