Work at Home Success By Jill Hart
Mom Laughs By Cheryl Moeller
Simplifying Motherhood By Trish Berg
Ask A Twin Mommy By Cheryl Lage
Mothering By Heart By Cheri Fuller
Jelly Mom By Lisa Barker
Family Check-up By Sheila Wray Gregoire
Parent to Parent By Jodie Lynn
Moments for Mom By Elisabeth Corcoran
Making the Most of Marriage By Paula Friedrichsen
Cultivate Inner Beauty
By Rachel Lower
"(They) will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands."
1 Peter 3:3-4 (The Message - Copyright © Eugene H. Peterson/NavPress)
I often must remind myself about holy beauty. Poor Rach, with her coffee tanned teeth, belly roll, and a brand new pimple on her cheek!
We're all bombarded by the message that we must be continuously improving our outward looks. We must be crazy if we're not obsessing about the perfect lean body, straight white teeth, smooth skin, a designer closet, and so on. That list could go on and on, couldn't it?
 |
 |
God's definition of beauty is the one that's full of true richness and luxury, of "items" we can't buy off racks! To be full of God's beauty we must open our hearts to God's nourishment through study of His Word and prayer, and given time to grow, our true beauty will multiply.
Whenever I start making a mental list of the superficial and usually unrealistic goals I want to attain to, 1 Peter 3:3-4 will correct my worldly mental tick. Yes, it isn't a pleasant feeling thinking you don't measure up to the outside world's standard of beauty. Oh, but what wonder that we can choose to glisten in His!
This devotional first appeared in the Inner Fulfillment Daily Devotional.
© Rachel L, 1999-