3/22/12

Beautiful

I'm in a place in my life where I am growing and learning a lot.  God is teaching me so much about what it means to be a woman who follows and dedicates her life to Him.  I'm blessed to know many Godly women in my life, including my Mom, Grandma, and many friends that I have in college.  All of these women have been great mentors and encouragers for me in my walk with God.

Along with reading through some stuff from the Old Testament, I'm also completing a series through "Revive Our Hearts" called "30-Day Challenge: True Woman Makeover."  I'll admit right away that I have not been very good about "keeping up" with the daily challenge.  When I do take a few extra minutes to listen to the series, I find myself convicted and encouraged in my faith.

This morning I listened to Day 11, which is the start of a series on 1 Timothy 2:9-10, which says,

"And I want women to be modest in their appearance.  They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.  For women who claim to b devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do."

The first time I read through these verses this morning, I was immediately convicted.  I'm not saying that I felt like my clothes are indecent or that my actions aren't good.  But, I realized that my attitude isn't always great.  The speaker of this series said that our outside life reflects our inside life.  In other words, our appearance, attitude, and actions are reflections of our hearts.

My attitude has been not-so-pleasant lately.  I don't want to be in school.  I'm not sure if I want to be a teacher (though I think that God does want me to be a teacher).  I want to move and become a beach bum.  Sounds wonderful, right?  Wrong.

The more I contemplate this, I realize that it's reflecting the sinful part of my heart.  I am obviously not letting go of the sin that God desires to clean me of.  If I want to continue growing into a Godly woman, then I need to give up my attitude to God.  This requires opening my heart and letting God in.  This is what will make me, and you, beautiful.  Nothing else matters.  God is the only important part of life, because He is the giver of life.

I long to be a woman of God not because my friends and mentors are, but because that's what God's desire is for me.  Reread the verses from 1 Timothy and ask God what holds you back from being a reflection of Him.  It's not easy hearing about your weaknesses, but when you let them go and allow God to push you, you become beautiful.

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