Faith and Beauty

Hear me out on this one: I believe that confidence, faith, and beauty go hand in hand. If we don't have the confidence to believe we are beautiful, no matter what the media says, we won't have the time to develop the faith we need to trust God with all our hearts.

Now I'm not talking about the kind of beauty that you see in photographs. And I'm definitely not talking about the flawless models that we see in magazines or in television commercials. I'm talking about the beauty that comes from the heart; the un-self-conscious, totally confident ability that God can use you to do great things. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says, "Your adornment must not be merely external - braiding of the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God."

We were worshipping in youth group the other night; and as I told you in Given a Purpose, we had a great time. God was moving. God was here. Hearts were changed. But as everyone else seemed to be totally caught up in the music, raising their hands towards God, I couldn't help but feel totally self-conscious and wrapped up in the way I looked. "Is the bottom of my shirt too short? Are my jeans too tight? If I raise my hands to worship will someone judge me?"

I feel like I've been doing this a lot lately. Once again I stopped myself and said, "No, this is fat talk and I won't have it!"

Psalm 139:14 says, "I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well." We were created by God. He made us beautiful: on the inside and out. He created us individually. We all have different body shapes because God created us that way! No two snowflakes are alike, why should two bodies be alike? When we call ourselves ugly or fat we are calling God a liar. We are saying that He made a mistake. Embrace your flaws because they are what make you unique and BEAUTIFUL.

What we see as beautiful today, will change tomorrow. People age. It's natural and nothing to be ashamed of. My grandmothers are two of the most beautiful women in my life. I like to sneak pictures at their wedding photos and I always think that they are just as beautiful today as they were then. Proverbs 31:30 says, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

If we are "vain" and spend more time on our appearance than we do reading the Bible and praying, I believe we will have to answer for every extra minute we spend gazing into the mirror. We worry too much about what we look like and we forget to embrace our opportunities to present the gospel to others. When we're too worried about what people think about us, we lose those moments enable us to make a difference. Our society has taught us that we must be totally engrossed in our appearance. We take everything that makes us uncomfortable and give it a name: ugly. We need to forget our apprehensive attitude and break free from the bondage of negativity towards our appearance and trust that God has a plan for us.

So, as we were worshipping, I forwent my insecurities and raised my hands to the God who gave me life and who shows me everyday a new way to live beautifully.