Genesis 1:31
And God saw everything he had made, and behold, it was very good.
"very good" can also be translated;
good to the senses, agreeable, pleasant and desireable; beautiful; useful; fit and suitable; happy; joyful; valuable; favorable; cheerful; comfortable; wholesome; acceptable. Why not look at our bodies with those adjectives in mind.
God is very detailed - in nature, in His Word, and in all of His creation, from the universe to each blade of grass. With all we know and have seen of God's loving detail and preciseness in creation, would He do any less for us? We are God's sons!! We must be much more wonderous than any other creation because spiritual treasure is housed within our very being. Our bodies are precious - the most exquisite complex system God ever made.
Why then do we sometimes have negative reactions to our physical appearance or personality traits? Where do the ideas of what we should look like and how we should act come from?
We are bombarded daily by false standards of the world, skillfully promoted by the adversary, and from birth we are taught to compare and match ourselves to these false standards. Models, movie stars, rock stars, and etc. are set up as icons (images) for the world to emulate (imitate). The rich and the famous are considered to have an abundant life, whether or not they have everlasting life and the things of God. Vested interests (a special concern or interest in maintaining or influencing a condition, arrangement or action especially for selfish ends) decide fashion, beauty, and the in-look, and advertising promotes "needs" so that people will spend money to meet them. It's a monetary game for profit.
Physical beauty, based on the five senses, is one of the most sought after achievements in the world today. Beauty has become the most precious jewel of human worth. People believe if they can model themselves after what is really the adversaries false standard, they will gain love.
Believers on the other hand have been rescued from the worlds standards. Our worth is based on something lasting and unchanging - the price God paid for us by His Son Jesus Christ! We are to be imitators of God modeling ourselves after His Son. We are to let the beauty of Christ shine in every way. We are to present ourselves becomingly and attractively, not because we are seeking love and acceptance, but because we already have it and want to show it forth.
Without the truth of God's Word, people are either out to get attention or they are hiding (both are selfish attitudes). The first drives people to gain self glory and the second wastes a person away in self centered apathy.
Nobody can attain the false perfection we see in advertisements. When people have these five senses expectations based on these false standards of the adversary they end up heartsick.
Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh it is a tree of life.
When a Godly desire we've believed for comes to us, we are full of joy and success.
When we learn to look at ourselves the way God sees us, we have no shame, embarrassment, or fear and our genuine beauty shines forth.
God has made us completely, complete absolutely complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10). The advesary knows this too. He fears that we'll believe this truth and move out to deliver others. Thats why he works so hard to distract us from the faithful, consistent Word oriented standards God has set.
The adversary wants us to think that this awesome vessel formed by God is not quite complete - that there is something over looked, forgotten, or with held. That is a lie from the author of lies (the devil). He tries to make us feel ashamed and inferior so we'll be afraid to reach out to others. This is one way he attempts to defeat the promises of God and discourage or prevent the movement of His Word. We have to deligently work to replace the worlds standards with the light of God's Word.
Have you ever looked at yourself and decided that many things about your appearance were wrong? ("my hips are to big or my nose looks like a banana, my entire body is just hideous") You magnify all those things you decided were wrong rather that looking at them as the unique and strong features they are.
I John 32:4
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
God is love - this is the fullest conceivable form, perfect in itself. There is love and perfection with great detail in God's every action. He does not do things haphazardly!
Deuteroronmy 32:4
He is the rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgement; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
You and I are the object of God's love. We are His handiwork. Your uniqueness is purposed (intentional) by God. We are each uniquely beautiful, we are one of a kind and God has given us great freedom to be unique. Hair, skin, nails, features, body shapes, textures, colorings are all different - even identical twins are different in some way. We are suppose to be unique because that is God's plan. You are you - the one and only. You are born once in the history of time, a masterpiece never to be duplicated. And you show the love of God with everything you are, including your personality, your eyes, your smile. You are a son of God, wonderful and worth appreciating as one of a kind.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Workmanship = the Greek word poiema = masterpiece
We are His workmanship a unique masterpiece. We're perfectly designed by Him to be one of a kind and to fit most suitably in the one body. We cannot allow the adversary to steal one thing that is ours. We need to replace any ideas or thoughts that have caused us to cringe in inferiority and condemnation with the refreshing, restful confidence of God's Word. We are of God's design and we should boldly declare it.
Pslams 139:14
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully (awesomely) and wonderfully made; marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
We have to change our mental image of ourselves to accept and appreciate who we are and that we are awesomely and wonderfully made by God. It is the Word in our hearts and the love of God we manifest that make us truely beautiful.
Proverbs 23:7
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Thinking worldly or carnal thoughts can actually make a person ugly. All that worry, fear, anger, and frustration, all those negatives show on his face and in the way he carries himself.
Thinking the thoughts of God's Word will make you beautiful. Confessing the Word especially regarding yourself and your appearance can literally change the way you look. It puts a spring in your step, your expression shines with love, joy and peace. People are drawn to your beauty and light.
Dwelling on negatives does not make them go away, it only magnifies them. It takes time to break down the belief system that the adversary has built in our lives, but we can learn to see ourselves the way God sees us and to love ourselves for what He has made us.
God bless and keep you.
remind him of his future.
