As I was helping my youngest get a dress on she stated with a smile on her face, “Now I’m beautiful!” I said, “Yes! But you were beautiful BEFORE you put the dress on. You are beautiful in whatever you wear, all the time!” And she simply smiled at me and we moved on.
But then I immediately felt conviction in my soul, “Do you believe these words are true for you? That you’re beautiful regardless of what you wear, right away in the morning when you just wake up, or when you’re a couple days late getting your hair washed…do you also believe you’re beautiful?”
Sadly I knew the answer – I struggle with this. I have a generous and sweet husband who is constantly complimenting me, and there are moments when I shrug him off – not feeling like his words are actually true.
But here IS the TRUTH friends: we were created by a Father who loves beauty and He declared our bodies GOOD – He declared the female frame good in all of our own uniqueness – It. Is. GOOD! And it is beautiful – without make-up, even with a greasy mess of hair, in our sweats or in a dress…IT IS GOOD and it is beautiful.
Regardless of the size of our thighs or the shape of our curves, the color of our hair or skin – can you believe you are truly beautiful? You are created intricately and beautifully, BOTH inside AND outside. We are quick to point to inward beauty which is truly SO important, but can we also agree that God created the outside to display beauty because we are made to display HIS beauty – made in HIS image and HIS likeness – to display Him to the world?
And yes, I’m a girly-girl who enjoys applying a little make-up, curling my hair, and putting on a cute outfit, but I’m working at believing this: I’m beautiful regardless – not even because my husband tells me so, but because my FATHER declares it over me – the One who created me declared it GOOD. And can we also agree – there is an Enemy who has come after our beauty – who wants us to doubt our design and HIS goodness?
You see, when we declare it isn’t good, we’re really saying that the Creator messed up, which means we’re saying the Creator isn’t good. To doubt the Creator’s design is to doubt the Creator himself. But the Enemy’s tactics are always to convince us that the Creator isn’t as good as He says he is. And so He convinces us that beauty ONLY looks one way and fits in one box, and if you don’t have it (myself included), then it is not GOOD.
So if we’re going to get fired up about something – let’s get fired up about this – let’s declare war against the one who only comes to steal and kill and destroy – the one who only wants to create doubt in our heads and put space between us and Truth. The one who loves when we fall into the trap of denying the Goodness which we’ve been given.
Friends – today, when you doubt – instead declare war. Declare Truth:
– I’ve been given a GOOD design.
– I don’t have to fit in the box that the world tells me is beautiful (and the truth is that most of us don’t!) b/c IT IS A LIE.
– I don’t have to fall for the lies that I NEED a certain weight, surgery, size, article of clothing, or beautiful product to feel beautiful.
To feel beautiful is to walk with the Creator. To feel beautiful is to know that you’re delighted in. To feel beautiful is to BELIEVE that you display His love not just through your personality, but also through your smile, eyes, touch, how you carry yourself, your mannerisms, and how your love.
You’re beautiful. So wage war. ⚔️
