Photo credit: knowhimonline
I'm joining the 31 Days series with a 31 Days of Devotions here. I've been struggling to find a way to write from my heart again, so I decided to begin where my heart is - His word. I will be sharing a different theme each day, sort of a word study of words of encouragement and hope that have meant a lot to me recently. Some days I may post more than once if there are other things I want to share about our day to day life, but there will always be a 31 Days post every day for the month of October. I hope you will join in every day and share your own thoughts. And, of course, for more 31 Days posts, go here.
Photo credit: Interact SpA - Play innovation
"Do not let your adorning be external - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." (1 Peter 3:3-4)
Beauty is something that holds a great value in our society. It doesn't take much to be bombarded with messages telling us that if we just had this or just did this, we'd be beautiful. Photo editing and photography tricks make us strive for a beauty that isn't as real as it appears. We think that to be beautiful we have to look a certain way, wear our hair in a certain style, dress the right way, and be skinny enough. And, if we are beautiful, by the world's standards, then we will be loved and valued and praised, right?
But, "the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). True beauty is not found in how we look on the outside, but in the way we look on the inside. The verse from 1 Peter says we should not focus on adorning ourselves on the outside - not that we can't fix our hair up fancy or wear fancy jewelry - but that we should focus on where our heart is, because that is what God will judge us by.
Matthew Henry says that "instead of the outward adorning of the body" we should "put on much more excellent and beautiful ornaments" and "take care to adorn and beautify [our] souls rather than [our] bodies". 1 Peter 3:4 says that what is most precious to God is a "gentle and quiet spirit" because of its "imperishable beauty". The word imperishable means not corrupted or decayed. Because, our earthly bodies will one day decay and they are already corrupted by the sin of this world. But, our spirit (soul) is what really matters to God, because it is imperishable.
"But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God." (Romans 2:29)What does a gentle and quiet spirit look like? The word gentle means meekness. "In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice" (Strong's concordance). A person who is meek is not self-seeking, but focused on trusting in the One whose faithfulness is never ending.
The word quiet comes from the Greek word, hesychios, which is derived from the Greek word, hedraios, meaning steadfast, firm, immovable. A quiet person will "continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard" (Colossians 1:23). A quiet person is unwavering in commitment to following the path of righteousness and seeking the will of God in all things.
I am certain a fly on the wall in our home would not look at me and call me a gentle or quiet person. Because, behind closed doors, I often let anger, doubt, worry control me instead of trusting in the One who knows my future and will work all things together for good. One thing I've begun to pray is that He would take the lies and replace them with the Truth. And these are truths I want written on my heart.
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16)PS - In my college days, before I met my husband, I would pull out this CD or this CD, turn the volume up, and sing with all my heart. The lyrics reminded me often that beauty was in the eye of the Beholder, that God looked at my heart and that I was beautiful because I chose to wait on Him. One day, I want to share these CDs with my daughter and tell her she is beautiful because of the One who created her.
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Jessica Turner is the creative mom of two little ones who loves to scrapbook, blog, and record all the beautiful memories of life so they won't be forgotten. Her blog is a quick and fun read, filled with lots of tips on being a mom, saving money, photographing your kids, sharing her faith at (in)courage, and inspiring moms to be creative in everyday life. I am enjoying the little gems about memory keeping she has been posting each day and have already started thinking about more ways I can hold onto the memories of these precious years with my little ones.
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