Where is Your Focus?
Every day, I go to the bathroom, and look in the mirror. A lot of times, it's either after I wake up or right before I have to go to bed, and I'm too lazy to put on my glasses (and I have bad vision - I mean it) so when I look in the mirror, I'm like, I look good (Don't laugh), because I don't have the sharpness of my glasses to pick up every detail. And then later, I have my glasses on, and I'm like, Ugh. Look at that. I'm not pretty, because now I can see every detail. Sounds silly. But I'll bet it's something most girls have done at least once before.
One time, I was looking in the mirror, grimacing at my reflection, and it got me thinking, Hey, I shouldn't be focusing on those tiny "blemishes" cuz God doesn't look at me like that, does He? He doesn't look at me and say, "I see that blemish there, and there, and there. You're filthy." No, He looks at me and says, "You are mine. You are beautiful and worth more than diamonds to Me." Then I realized that God looks at me, a sinner saved by grace, and He doesn't focus on my constant sins. When He looks at me, He sees Perfect. Not Sinful. God sees Jesus in me, and He doesn't focus on the sins, sort of how I see myself without glasses. No, He doesn't like the sins - He hates them in fact - but because I have accepted Jesus in my heart, God sees Jesus' holiness instead of my sinfulness. And I think it's kinda the same with what I see in the mirror every day. I can choose to focus on the beauty, or I can choose to focus on the blemish. God wants me to focus on the beauty, so I should follow His example and not pick out the bad things. No, I don't always like what I see in the mirror, but God loves me and He created me, so I should respect that and see through His perspective.
A few months ago, I did a devotional on the YouVersion Bible App (great app, by the way) called "Beauty Begins: Making Peace With Your Reflection" by Megan Shook Alpha. It was very eye-opening. One of the devos was titled "Pretty vs. Beautiful." It went on to talk about how "pretty" is ever-changing in our society, and is temporary. "Beautiful," on the other hand, is permanent and is not based on peers. True beauty is based on the inside, not the outside. Proverbs 31:30 declares,
"Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
Easier said than done, right? A great place to start is in Proverbs 31. It discusses what true beauty looks like in the woman who fears the Lord. I heard that we should spend five more minutes in the Bible than in front of the mirror. It's a great challenge. Beauty begins every day, by making a small change that will lead to a big change. It also helps to share your feelings with God. Megan Shook Alpha wrote,
"Beauty begins where self-reliance ends."
Beauty begins by surrendering yourself to God. When you do that, He guides you to the truth - that you aren't ugly or worthless; you are His beautiful creation - you are His!
I just want to encourage you, if you are struggling with body image, remember how God sees you. He made you, and He loves you! 1 Samuel 16:7 says,
"But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'"
God is the Creator of beauty, and He does value it. However, be mindful that you are not too focused on outward appearance, because it is the heart that matters most, as the verse says. You are unique and beautiful - "a masterpiece, a work of art, living out what you believe," as Francesca Battistelli sings in "Unusual." Finding true beauty is a choice. You can either focus on the tiny things you don't love, or you can focus on the big picture. God wants us to focus on the important stuff. True beauty is not defined on what you wear or what you look like. True beauty is defined by God. And He sees you as a beautiful person, even with your brokenness. What are you focusing on?
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