“You are altogether beautiful my love; there is no flaw in you.” Song of Solomon 4:7
After having a discussion with my team about appearance and then two songs coming on my shuffle about beauty in the Lord, I feel like God really wanted me to touch upon this topic.
I’m not going to lie, being a missionary makes you really aware of just how rough you can look! Haha Covered in mosquito bites (including your face), not showering for a couple days, having a lack of sleep, eating straight carbs because that’s all there is, not having a routine to work out, sweating incessantly, etc. You are completely stripped of any physical identity/security you had before.
Self-image is definitely a hot topic, especially in women’s ministry. But I want to quickly clarify that this blog is not for a specific, targeted audience, rather everyone! Whether you’re old, young, woman or man this post is for you. From what I have seen, insecurities are something everyone struggles with at one point or another (if you don’t please email your secret in defeating human nature).
I’ll be the first to admit, that when I hear that there is a talk covering self-image I quickly tune out saying it’s not for me and that I know my confidence comes from the Lord (check out Prov. 3:26). But as I have been thinking of this topic more lately, I acknowledge that our head knowledge is not always retained as our heart knowledge and we need reminders for our hearts every once and a while.
My mom always raised me with the following concept. That when you look in the mirror, you see the image God has made you in. After accepting what you see in the mirror, you need to realize you can’t do anything about changing your outward appearance. But rejoice in the fact that you can work on being prettier on the inside.
So how much are you focusing on your beauty in the inside compared to how much you focus on yourself outwardly? We need to start recognizing what our minds are subconsciously focusing on when it comes to us. Is it more focused on how you are on the inside or the outside?
Let me also take a minute to remind you that “we are God’s masterpiece” Ephesians 2:10. So those thoughts that put yourself down are ridiculing the image God has purposefully made you in. I am not saying to feel guilty for every negative thought you have, we still daily fall short of the glory of God. Instead, let this simply be a reminder for you to stop buying into the lies of the enemy and celebrate that you are “made in the image of God” Genesis 1:27. As ouR Squad leader says, “Look into the mirror and think, ‘Oh hey there good looking!’” Let us rejoice that though we are all made in the image of God, we also are unique not only in our giftings, but also our appearances!
After obtaining a place of celebration in our images, let’s alter the time we spend on our outward appearances into focusing on how we can improve on the inside. Let us turn our jealousy of others’ qualities into vocal appreciation to one another. Let’s build each other up through the admirable traits God has given us. Not only complimenting each other on the physical things we admire, but also the internal traits we recognize in others. I think we forget just how much it impacts someone when we speak life into them, but we are reminded of this when life is spoken into us when we need it the most.
These two videos below are the songs that were brought to my attention during my Quiet time today. Listen to the songs’ lyrics and know that they are not only truth for everyone else, but also for you! Celebrate the traits and qualities that God has given you and find your eternal identity in Christ, bug bites and all 🙂
