Beauty

As woman we are always comparing ourselves to others, looking down on ourselves yet always encouraging others. Why is it so easy to compliment someone else yet look in the mirror and see only our flaws. Why do we build others up and tear ourselves down. This is not okay.

We are all unique. We are all beautiful in our own way. We were never meant to only see beauty in others but also in ourselves. We let the world’s standards of beauty impact the image we see in the mirror. We let society tell us we need to look a certain way to claim the title of beauty. We need to stop letting all these lies impact our lives. 

“For the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” -1 Samuel16:7

We are looking at this all wrong. How you look shouldn't be the only thing that matters or the most important thing. What matters and what is most important is your HEART. It’s about who you are as a person. It’s about kindness, love, respect, generosity, compassion, joy, serving others, etc... 

The real definition of beauty is who you are as a person, how you treat those around you and how well you serve Jesus. 

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. Rather it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” 

-1 Peter 3:3-4

“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” 

-Proverbs 31:30

I hope this encouraged and reminded you that you are beautiful and no one can take that away from you. Jesus made you to be beautiful and in his image. Only he has the ability to judge that. 

Spend some time asking Jesus to reveal to you what he sees when he looks at you and write it down. Keep it somewhere and look back on it and add to it. Ask him to open your eyes to the beauty that is in you. 

Find Joy in the Journey

I want to dig into the words JOY and JOURNEY. What do they mean and how can we find joy in the journey of life.

JOY😁 One definition online said: "Joy is an emotion that’s acquired by the anticipation, or even expectation of something great or wonderful."

We need to anticipate that God will bring something good to us. We all have times in our life where things are good, when we have something exciting happen, or we have something to look forward to. We need to fully embrace those moments and cherish them because life is hard at times. Joy does not come from ourselves it is a gift of God.

“The joy of the LORD is your strength” -Nehemiah 8:10

Joy is our strength because we need joy in our lives. It carries us through the hard times because we know that hardship won't last forever. Joy will come again.

"Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." -Psalm 30:5

JOURNEY 🗺 One definition online said: "When you travel from one place to another, especially when there is a long distance between the places."

It can also refer to our growth as christians. When we grow we go from a place of thinking or acting to a better one. We change and transition, we go from one place to another, and that is a journey. 

Every part of our life is a stop or a place on the way to our destination. Heaven, that is our final destination. But while we are on this earth we may have to walk some hard roads, but we are not on this journey alone and we don't have to rely on ourselves.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight". -Proverbs 3:5-6

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." -Psalm 23:4

When we rely on his understanding of what we go through, we know there is purpose and he will lead us. He is a God of all knowledge. We will walk through hard times but he is our strength and he is is with us. We know he is faithful, we know he has a good plan for us, we just need to trust him. 

In conclusion: 

-Joy is a gift from God

-We need to enjoy and cherish moments of Joy.  

-Life is hard but God is with us.

-Heaven is our final destination 

-Trust him, he is FAITHFUL 

Why is it so hard to say yes to God?

We know that God has a great plan and purpose for our life yet we fail to follow though. We get caught up in fears, insecurities and doubt. We know he calls us to things that are sometimes scary or uncomfortable. Just because you are afraid doesn't mean you run away from it. He calls us to hard things and scary things. If things were easy, we wouldn't need him. We need to know that in our own strength we cannot overcome those things, but with him, all things are made possible (Philippians 4:13). Why? Because in our weakness he is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9). If we are strong on our own we wouldn't look to him or ask him for help. 

We need him, we sometimes think we can do it on our own. You may be thinking I don't think I can do it without him, obviously I am not that strong. To that I say; yeah, you may not think that but our actions say otherwise. Did you get into a bad situation because you refused to listen to that one thought that said maybe you shouldn't go there. Or the one that said maybe you shouldn't hang out with those people, maybe it’s a bad idea, it will only harm you. 

God knows best. That’s why he gave us a conscience, that’s why he gave us the Holy spirit. After Jesus rose from the grave he went back to his father. It wasn't so he would leave, but so the spirit would come and live in us (John 16:7). Jesus may have lived with them, but the spirit lives within us (Romans 8:11). It’s how we receive any words or wisdom from God, it is given to us through the spirit.

We have the holy spirit in us, we also have power as children of God. We have power to say no to our insecurities. So what if you can’t do this, You do this knowing that by obeying God, others will know that it is not your ability. But this is the power of your God working through me. So what if your fears tell me no one will listen to what you have to say, so what if the fear says keep quiet it is easier that way. It may be easier but it is not where God is calling you. So  what if only 10 people hear you, at least you are obeying the God who made me and called me by name. We are called to live worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1). You are not living worthy of your calling by giving up or giving into those lies. Stand firm and trust where God is leading you. Say no to those lies that try to derail you. Say no to letting fear have the final word. Say no to insecurity causing you to run from your calling. Sometimes have to walk through what scares us to get to where God is leading. 

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” -Jeremiah 29:11

LOOK UP THE SONG: YOU GOT THIS BY LOVE & THE OUTCOME