True Beauty - Encouragement Café - September 22, 2015
True Beauty
Café Menu Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Today’s Special is: Flawless
Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Noelle Dey
Main Ingredient:
You are altogether beautiful, my darling, there is no flaw in you.
Song of Songs 4:7 NIV
Entrée:
Maybe it’s a consequence of not praying about e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.
All I know is that I’m in my forties and I have a 12-year-old boy body.
On a positive note, I do have a pair of oversized, voluptuous body parts: my kidneys in the form of polycystic kidney disease.
Although I have grown to love my body in the last decade or so, I spent the majority of my life thinking that God made a mistake when He created me. Like, maybe He forgot to put me through the editing process.
So, when I read Song of Songs 4:7, I struggled to believe it was true. Seriously? Beautiful? No flaw? This same truth is reflected in the first chapter of Genesis.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27 NIV
Isn’t it amazing that you and I are a part of God’s art gallery?
We each have our perfectly created touches. We are created in God’s image. That includes my age-earned skunk stripe, which I choose to color black, thank you very much... my chiseled shoulders… my very large kidneys… my small hands… my huge smile.
If we’re being honest, wouldn’t you agree that this world would be incredibly boring if we all had airbrushed-magazine-cover bodies?
And you? Brace yourself. Listen closely to what God is saying to you. Not the person next to you. He’s saying this to you,
You are altogether beautiful, my darling, there is no flaw in you.
Song of Songs 4:7 NIV
Take Out:
Look at yourself in the mirror. Where do you see God’s artistic touches? What makes you uniquely you? Smile and thank God for His creativity.
Maybe you’re in a spot where I was some years back. Many of the flaws I saw were due to my neglect, not due to God’s creation. So, I made a commitment to take better care of my body in the form of consistent workouts, cleaner eating and better hydration (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
If that’s where you are, it’s a great place to be! Before you turn away from this devotional, create two recurring appointments with yourself in your calendar: one to move your body and the other to create your healthy eating plan. Don’t strive for perfection. Just aim to treat God’s flawless creation with loving care.
Dessert:
Dear Heavenly Dad, thank You for the way You created each of us. Your Word reminds us that we are created in Your image. You call us masterpieces. You tell us that we are beautiful. Help us to receive Your truth and reject any message or thought that contradicts it. In Jesus’ Name We Pray, Amen!
© 2015 by Noelle Dey. All rights reserved.
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