What Makes You Beautiful?!

(Am I the one that had the One Direction song pop into my head after that title?)

Our society has become so obsessed with outward appearances.  People are so quick to judge others by how they look! What is with this?! We were not created to put others down.  We were not created to think poorly of ourselves.  We were not created to criticize and judge other people because of how they look.

What were we created for?

We were created for intimacy with our creator-God.  And anything that comes in the way of that needs to be removed from our life!  If we are obsessing over how we look, this could be getting in the way of our relationship with God. 

It is really hard to be confident in this world, especially without a firm relationship with God.  We are constantly being told how we should look, what we can do to attract someone, and other things like that.  The truth is, only the love of God can satisfy us.  Until we are confident in who we are in Christ and our identity in Him, it will be very difficult to be truly confident. 

Guys… GOD MADE YOU…

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV)

I want you to think about this a little bit differently for a second…

Think of a time that you had to create something.  It could be a painting, a sculpture, a song, a poem, something that YOU made yourself.  Something that you were very proud of.  This creation may not have been perfect; you may have made a little mess with the paint, or have some eraser marks, but that didn’t matter to you.  You thought it was beautiful.  You LOVED your creation. Something that you wanted to show to everyone.  Have you thought of something yet?

Okay now, thinking of that same thing, think about how you would feel if somebody talked badly about your creation.  Somebody pointed out the flaws or mistakes you made.  Somebody told you it was ugly.  It wasn’t pretty.  That you shouldn’t be showing other people because it is nothing to be proud of.

Guys…

That is how God feels when we constantly point out our flaws.  When we call ourselves ugly.  Or we say that we need to be skinnier.  Or have better hair.  Or wish we had better skin… the list goes on and on. 

God created us to be perfect in His sight.  We are His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).  He created us EXACTLY how He wanted us to be. 

Why do we take into consideration the opinions of other so much?

We have God’s approval.  God tells us we are absolutely perfect in His sight.  (Ephesians 1:4)  It is very difficult to become confident in yourself unless you are confident in God.  When you know what God says about you and that He made you just the way He wanted for a purpose, nobody else’s opinion will matter. 

*Ladies, if you have been told that you need to look a certain way to attract a guy, let me tell you right now… THAT IS A LIE!  Any man that is worthy of receiving love from you will accept you the way you are.  If they do not appreciate your God given beauty, they are not worth your time.

Make this declaration over your life: “I am beautiful because God created me.  I am perfect in His sight because I am his masterpiece.  I was created with a purpose and the only opinion that matters to me is the opinion of my Heavenly Father.  I am confident in who I am in the Lord.”

If you can speak this over your life, you will soon be able to believe it and in turn, you will become more confident!  Pray for God to give you confidence in who you are.

How can I use this new confidence?

You’ve probably heard this so many times, but it is so true!  It’s not your physical beauty that matters, it’s what’s on the inside that really matters. 

“Don’t be concerned about the OUTWARD BEAUTY of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.  You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from WITHIN, the UNFADING beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so PRECIOUS to God.” (1 Peter 3:3-4).

When we are beautiful the way God created us to be beautiful, our beauty never fades!  How cool is that?  When we trust in Him and honor Him, He sees us as PRECIOUS!  Just think about that.  We are precious to our God.  He sees us as precious… AMAZING! 

“You are precious in my eyes and honored and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4) WOW!

Instead of focusing on physical adornments, let’s focus on what God looks for in His children that are seeking to become more like Him.

“Dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another” (1 Peter 5:5)

“Loyalty makes a person attractive” (Proverbs 19:22)

“She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future” (Proverbs 31:25)

Focus on who God says you are.  Focus on who God created you to be. Focus on becoming more like Jesus.  When you focus on these things, when you focus on the things God created you for, you will become closer to Him and anything that this world says about you won’t matter anymore.  The only thing that will matter is what God says about you!  Press in to His love.  Dig deep into His word.  Spend time with Him, and I guarantee, confidence will follow!

Let me know what you think! Comment and Share!

Blessings!
Dani xoxo