The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord. Psalm 45:11 NIV
My friend, Denise, from elementary school was gorgeous. She had long, bouncy, golden brown hair, blue eyes and long, dark eyelashes. But Denise and I were not part of the elementary in-crowd, so we didn’t get to define beauty. One day my uncle and I were discussing the latest haircut, a Pixie, which I needed to make me look like the important girls. He said, “You know who I think is the second prettiest girl in school, after you? It’s Denise.” Now, I had a mirror and I knew how to use it. I knew I was not prettier than Denise, but I thought, “Bless his heart…he really believes that.”
I tend to think that beauty has eluded me. I do have two beautiful daughters and people tell me they look like me, so maybe just briefly at some point between awkward and aging, beauty found me. Maybe it was somewhere during high school and college. I remember seeing a picture and thinking, “I wish I looked more like her. Oh, wait! That’s me. Never mind…” In my mirror, I was still overweight with glasses and had braces covering my crooked teeth. It was okay, though, because I was pretty sure I was the only one who noticed. You see, I’m invisible.
When my 8-year-old played Cinderella, she was always Cinderella and the prince always found that the glass slipper was a perfect fit. When I thought of myself in the Cinderella story, I was one of the women in the crowd. I was the one who never had the opportunity to try the slipper before the handsome prince found its owner.
Today I have a knight in shining armor who would fight to protect me, and he thinks I’m beautiful. When he tells me so, he looks at me in a way that takes me back to that feeling I had with my uncle. “Bless his heart…he really believes that.” Of course, I’m not sure my husband understands beauty. He doesn’t even care if his socks match each other. Now, God understands beauty.
The King who is enthralled by your beauty is the Creator of the universe. He created beauty. What is His definition of beauty? It doesn’t matter. You and I fit that description. Proverbs 31:30 says, “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” The ideal body moved from Marilyn Monroe to Twiggy. The preferred look has been heavily made up, natural, and everything in between. Beautiful hair has been long and straight, and it has been short and curly. That’s why beauty is fleeting. The world’s view of it never stays the same. But the King, the One who has the right to define beauty, thinks you and I are beautiful. Let’s just rest in that and honor Him.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Worship Him with Dancing
Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21 NIV
Follow Baal? Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? Did Baal create you or redeem you? What were those people thinking? Well, the Hebrew word, Baal, means “lord, master, possessor.” It seems that in Elijah’s day, each locality had its own Baal. Okay, I’m starting to relate a little more. I’m afraid I have my own “Baal” also. It’s not always the same thing. I guess I would define the “Baal” in my life as anything I allow to master me.
Is there anything that constantly takes your attention away from God? It could be a habit you’d like to break. It could be the need for approval. It could be anything that keeps you from worshiping and following God with a passion. That’s what it means to waver between two opinions.
The Hebrew word that is translated “waver” means to become crippled; to worship in a limping dance. Anything that keeps us from following God alone will cripple us. Can you just imagine wanting to worship God but having something that hangs on to you until it makes you limp? Psalm 119:32 says, “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” Now there is a heart set free to dance with God! Is there any question that the Lord is God? Then throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Fix your eyes on Jesus and get ready for the dance of your life, the one God created you to dance.
Follow Baal? Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? Did Baal create you or redeem you? What were those people thinking? Well, the Hebrew word, Baal, means “lord, master, possessor.” It seems that in Elijah’s day, each locality had its own Baal. Okay, I’m starting to relate a little more. I’m afraid I have my own “Baal” also. It’s not always the same thing. I guess I would define the “Baal” in my life as anything I allow to master me.
Is there anything that constantly takes your attention away from God? It could be a habit you’d like to break. It could be the need for approval. It could be anything that keeps you from worshiping and following God with a passion. That’s what it means to waver between two opinions.
The Hebrew word that is translated “waver” means to become crippled; to worship in a limping dance. Anything that keeps us from following God alone will cripple us. Can you just imagine wanting to worship God but having something that hangs on to you until it makes you limp? Psalm 119:32 says, “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” Now there is a heart set free to dance with God! Is there any question that the Lord is God? Then throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Fix your eyes on Jesus and get ready for the dance of your life, the one God created you to dance.
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