Monday, January 14, 2013

To be beautiful . . .


I had some dumpy days last week, you know, those days you feel like a slob. Holiday eating is catching up, I suppose, and my upcoming birthday reminds me I ain't gettin' any younger. I never get enough sleep and it shows. So does the worry, the gray, the wrinkles . . . sigh. Can a person really feel beautiful and sustain it?

And yet my favorite pictures of myself are those where I look content and happy. It had nothing to do with the number on my scale or the clothes I was wearing. The beauty came from within, not from my "outward adornment" as Peter would say. My spirit was still and at peace. How can I live there?

After Moses spent 40 days with God the scripture says, "When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord."

His face was radiant, glowing, because he had spoken with God.

Sounds like real beauty to me.

But it isn't just Moses. David tells us in Psalm 34:5, "Those who look to him are radiant . . ." Isaiah echoes him telling us in chapter 60, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you . . . Then you will look and be radiant . . ."

Radiant. I wouldn't mind being described that way. How about you? And what is required in each of these verses to become radiant?

Being in God's presence.

I need to spend time with Him. If I want to be beautiful, truly beautiful, I should spend more time with God than at the gym or beauty parlor or nail salon or department store. All of these places give temporary, outward results, but I need God to be wholly beautiful.

Will you join me on my quest to be beautiful? Will you commit to more time with Him? If so, scripture promises great rewards.

. . . And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (MSG)

Let the transformation begin, sisters! Let's get us some beauty. Lasting, pure, undeniable beauty. Let's sit ourselves down in His presence.



Photo Credit: ToniVC

2 comments:

Mickey2940 said...

Yes. I agree. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit was also telling me in my heart. Jesus said who the son sets free is free indeed. He also said to consider the lily of the field - that it doesn't spin or toil, yet Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed as one of these flowers. So, once we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our lord and savior, we give Him all of our cares and trust Him that He will care for us. As Christ said, we must be born again and become as children. When we forgive and learn of Him, our hearts are renewed - we become young within and it shows on our face and in our walk and how we act and talk. With God, all things are possible - even the ugliest of individuals, when they experience the power of God, undergo a transformation from the inside out and become as that lily that Christ spoke about. If we store up our treasure in Heaven, we will never have to worry about losing our beauty because it will where moth and rust cannot touch it.

Nagilla Venkatesh said...

Great blog I enjoyed readding