Be like a diamond, precious and rare; not like a stone found everywhere.-Author unknown
The old saying goes like this – beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As women, it is very important for us to focus on Who is beholding us. God’s heart is saddened as He watches the women He creates with love and extraordinary detail worry over what the world thinks they should be. God longs for you to seek fulfillment in Him, allowing Him to be your first love. He wants to be the One Who satisfies your longings, declares you are beautiful, and meets your heart’s deepest desires. When seeking the world’s approval, you will always experience profound disappointment because the world cannot meet the deep longing God has placed in your heart for only Him. Your life can be filled with many things, but without a Christ-centered heart, frustration will always linger.
We often ask the question Does God see me? Yes! A thousand times yes! The Lord does see you. In those moments, I am reminded of the story of Hagar, who finds herself in a terrible situation that is not orchestrated by her own actions. She runs away, distraught by her situation, finding herself weeping by a stream. At this moment Hagar is at a loss for words, feeling overwhelmed, wronged, helpless, and hopeless. The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness… So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You are a God of seeing, for she said, Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.Genesis 16:7 & 13I love this story because it tells us that God found Hagar, meaning He was searching for her. Hagar, even as a slave, did not go unnoticed by the Lord. She was probably not a beautiful woman by our standards. As a slave, she was likely worn and tattered by her tasks, but God was searching her heart, not her outer appearance. God’s compassion to this woman, who was not of His people, is overwhelming. With his agape love, God sought her out, comforted her heart, and made her a promise. Although sometimes we see ourselves as Hagar, unattractive, unproductive, unworthy, our Savior sees us as His beautiful daughters.
Hagar is so overwhelmed that God would spend time with her and seek her out that she names Him El Roi – The God Who sees. Hagar saw the Lord and knew He was the One Who watched after her. Just by realizing Someone was there for her allowed Hagar to return and face some challenging circumstances.
Allow that to soak in – the Lord loves YOU and is always watching over you, even when you don’t feel beautiful or at your best. He loves you no matter what your hair looks like because there was no time for a shower, smiles when he sees your shirt sprinkled with spit-up because you have a 3-month-old, and loves the fact your house is a wreck because you are playing with your children. His heart breaks for us as tears of disappointment fall from your eyes, and He celebrates when you take joy and comfort in Him.
Sister, the Lord is enamored with you.…"for who touches you touches the apple of his eye." Zechariah 2:8 The Lord considers you the apple of His eye. The Lord wants to show you how beautiful you are to Him – not using the standards of the world, but by using the content of your heart. The Lord does not examine the outer self for beauty, but judges what is in the heart. Today, may you find yourself filling up your heart with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As you become more and more like Christ, on the inside, your beauty will shine as a beacon to a world that yearns for a love they do not know.
Are you tired of hoping that someone else could fill the place that was meant for Me? I see you, all of you, and you do not have to hide anymore. I see your sin, and I see your flaws, and I still desire you as My own. I am crazy about you. I am the answer for your longing. The “more” that your heart waits for is Me.” – Angela Thomas Do You Think I Am Beautiful