Beauty Within

First, can I say "YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!"  Why? Because, God made you. In Psa 139:14  David is praising God and says “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

God made you and when you complain about how you look, your complaint is with God and His  handiwork.  But I don’t want to stop there, I want to talk about what you do with what you've got.

1. Sometimes the most physically beautiful people are the ugliest beings on the earth.

Why is that? It’s because their cover is painted nicely but their lack of inner beauty destroys the outside.

Imagine a beautiful gold cup with sewer water in it. Just because the cup is beautiful doesn’t mean we drink what’s inside. Many times though we get caught in this trap of loving beautiful things but then we see what’s inside. What’s inside can completely ruin the outside and MANY TIMES it does.

2. The beauty that matters most to God is what is on the inside…and that will be reflected by how you present yourself on the outside.

While putting this lesson together, I was snacking on some Dove Chocolate Promises. They were buy-one-get-one at Wal-Mart last week. WOOWOO!  Anyway, I opened one up and glanced at the message.  It was so apropos.  It said, “Your smile is your best asset.” AMEN, sister!

When we were dating and even after we got married, my husband has always said that his favorite thing about me is my smile or happiness.  LADIES, a smile can transform your whole face.

It not only transforms your whole face but it also shows what is in your heart! I think many times, people expect teenagers to have bad attitudes, so they do. Be different. Show the joy of the Lord and the love of Jesus on your face.

The Bible tells us to work on the inside in 1 Peter 3:3-4 “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;  But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."

Also in 1 Tim 2 it says “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works."

The word "modest" speaks of not bringing attention to yourself, of following the rules so that you don’t stick out. The world says to stand out to get attention. God says to stand up and point the attention to HIM. Give HIM glory. Do you do that with your clothing?

Also the words "shamefacedness" and "sobriety" bring a lot of added help to this passage. Shamefacedness literally means to keep your eyes down. It’s a behavior that shows humbleness and reverence, while sobriety means self-control.  It says “soundness of mind,” in other words, not doing crazy things. Why? Because crazy things brings attention to you. 

Did you know that your BEHAVIOR can be just as immodest as your clothing? In fact, you could be wearing a skirt down to your ankles and a shirt up to your throat and be just as immodest as the “street girl.”  Modesty is not just a type of clothing, it’s also a behavior.

So, a beautiful girl is modest in her behavior. She is working on your heart, seeking the God who can change her. She is reaching out to others with her good works. She is speaking and loving into the lives of those around her, not to bring attention to herself but to bring attention to God.

Pro 31:30  Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

3. What you believe about beauty will show by where you look

I say all the above to say this.  Facebook, Pinterest, beauty magazines, and some TV shows offer us beauty advice BUT we will never be beautiful if we look there.

I love what Courtney from WLW says “You won’t read about having a gentle and quiet spirit in the beauty magazines being sold at your local grocery store.  But as we read through the Bible cover to cover, God will transform all of us from the inside out as we lay down our ugly sin filled hearts at the foot of the cross and exchange them for what is precious in God’s sight.

Today we have a choice – what will we pursue? A steady diet of the world’s beauty secrets or a steady feast of the living bread.”

You are only as beautiful as you are on the inside, so how do you get beauty? You have to pursue it. As Courtney said “Read the Bible from cover to cover.” Study Jesus and what He did, how He responded. Study the great woman of the Bible.  Study the Proverbs 31 lady.

Pray! Ask God to clean house. Ask Him to clean up the filth and show you what needs to change and finally LOOK IN THE MIRROR. What do you see? Do you see a smile, a genuine smile? Does the joy of the Lord come bubbling out of you or is it sewer water? - Rejoicing in the Present