North Santa Rosa

Living With Purpose (Girls Edition)

    I recently read a story about a young woman who was mesmerized by testimonies about faith healing. She was a noble, educated, and cultivated woman, but she was born with several birth marks that covered half of her face. They were so pronounced they could not possibly escape the attention of anyone. Every glance of every passer-by went straight to her heart like an arrow. Thinking of the faith healing, she approached her Sunday School teacher and asked if she ought to seek to have her blemishes taken away.    “Do you think,” she said, with trembling lips, “Do you think God would heal me of these spots and make them disappear?”

    “My dear,” replied her teacher, “That’s a perfectly natural and legitimate question, but it’s just something I would not know. I know God can do anything, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking Him that. Why don’t you ask Him also to make you beautiful and radiant on the inside too?”

    With thanks and a higher degree of comfort, she prayed, “Dear God, if possible, allow my birthmarks and blemishes to fade away so that they no longer plague me with funny looks from other people. Nevertheless, not as I will, but Your will be done. And please Lord, help improve my inner-beauty and character. In Jesus name, Amen.”

    She stayed in her position of prayer for a few moments and before she rose from her kneeling position, there came to her sub-conscious, the sweet words from God’s Spirit, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

    And so it proved, in the days to follow, outwardly she appeared the same, and yet not the same. An inner light and a supernal love transfigured her. It was mysterious and fascinating. The loveliness of her soul, the charm and glory of her spirit, overtook the lack of outward beauty.

    While working as a youth minister several years ago, it was suggested we host a “Youth Lock-In for Girls”. We picked a date, made the plans, and during the event I had some of the parents lead small group discussions to discover what top things or issues were most important to the girls that attended. The results: 1) Relationship to God; 2) Loyal friendships; 3) Beauty and appearance. Many years later I wonder if the results would be the same for this generation. It’s my belief these topics are still high on the list.

    Most things that come from the strength of the body, its beauty, or from an environment of wealth and luxury, are to some degree attained by working out or working for them. There have been women who have had all of these in the largest degree, but failed in the end of being loved. The real secret to loveliness lies beneath all that. It lies in the character and personality of the person. It’s possible for every girl and woman to have charm which draws the sweetest gifts that can come to a person. There’s a beauty of the soul and the spirit that can never die and will always attract love.

    Allow me to share five Bible verses and a few words I recently read concerning girls, young ladies, and general womanhood:

    1 Samuel 16:7 – “The Lord said, do not judge by a person’s appearance or height. The Lord looks at the heart.” The world focuses on what people look like on the outside. God focuses on what people look like on the inside. Do you put more time and effort into being pretty on the outside or the inside? As a young girl grows older, and becomes influenced by the world, there will be the temptation to spend more time trying to find the perfect outfit, get the perfect tan, find the perfect lip gloss, and have the perfect body. While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look attractive, there needs to be balance. The kind of girl who talks to God on a regular basis and reads her Bible develops her inner beauty.

    Psalm 139:14 – “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous; how well I know it.” The Lord created you and you are unique! No two people are exactly the same. God sees you as His masterpiece. So, when you look in the mirror, He wants you to know that He is proud of you. Here’s a beauty tip: Every morning, look in the mirror and repeat Psalm 139:14 and smile you’re biggest and happiest smile.

    Proverbs 31:30 – “Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.” Outward beauty fades with age, so if you’re most concerned with outer appearance, you’ll be unhappy when the wrinkles come and the scale goes up. Signs of aging begin as early as age twenty. That’s why God wants us to “fear” Him. That doesn’t mean to be afraid of Him, but rather to be in awe of Him and all that He has done.

    1 Timothy 4:8 – “Physical training (exercise) is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come”. Staying in shape is a good thing, but God expects us to stay in shape spiritually by reading our Bibles, praying, and going to church on a regular basis. A person can be physically fit, but if they don’t know Jesus Christ, their perfect bodies won’t get them through the gates of heaven.

    1 Peter 3:3-4 – “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry or beautiful clothes. You should cloth yourself instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quite spirit, which is so precious to God”. This doesn’t mean that braided hair, nice clothes, and jewelry are wrong. This verse was given to warn women not to follow the customs of some of the Egyptians women who, during that time period, spent hours and hours working on their hair, make-up, and finding the perfect outfit. God would rather see young ladies and women work on becoming beautiful on the inside—the kind of beauty that lasts forever.

    One last tip if friends are important to you: Outward beauty can attract superficial friendships, but inner beauty attracts true friends.

• This bi-weekly column is written by Matthew Dobson. He’s a teacher, U.S. Army Chaplain, and the Pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in the New York Community. His “Living With Purpose” Book series can be found and purchased on www. Amazon.com. You can contact him at: rmdobson@liberty.edu.

 

 

Posted by on Jan 21 2018. Filed under Church News, Living With Purpose, Local, Top News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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