One day, the Lord was saying to me, "Marie you have an understated beauty. Other people may not see it but I see it. I see your beauty and I see it's there. Not all people see what I see. But I do and it is beautiful in My eyes."
But first, we will start with God, "The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
Okay so it is clear that God looks at the inside. The problem I had with this verse before was I knew I did not have that. My first two to three years of my Christian walk I already saw the blackness that was in my heart that needed to be washed and purified by God. God is in the business of restoring people's lives but He begins with the inner man - the heart - and it takes an end to ourselves and our own embellishments before God can truly work what is eternally beautiful in His eyes.
On my own, I can do nothing. Man at the core of his heart is fallen. Sometimes I need to go through the end of myself before something eternally worthwhile will emerge out of my broken pieces.
Perhaps like me, you also had pain. Maybe separated families. Abuse. Poverty. I do not know what you went through. The good thing about God is He does. And He can give the cure for us to walk not based on our past anymore, and give us a good future. Some of us may have made mistakes and blew it on the purity test. But you know, when you truly want to start over, God is there. He can give you a new start. No more guilt. No more shame. A brand new start.
Some of us think "I will never catch the interest of a good man because of what I did." It does not matter. God can make you new. He will start with you. He will bring you someone that has passed through God especially for you if He will. The Lord, our God, my God, does not just work in women who have it all. He can and is willing to work in the most broken of women.
Listen to this soliloquy adaptation of the Woman at the Well that Jesus changed and made new. She is no different from any of us who blew it once or more in our lives.
I Google-d the word "understated." It is not a normal part of my vocabulary. It somehow is a test (but not all the time) whether I'm hearing from God. God directs my thoughts and you think about things you wouldn't normally think about yourself, other people, your situation, etc.
So anyhow, the word "understated" means beauty that is "presented or expressed in a subtle and effective way." I think I prefer this one (let's laugh a little bit shall we?) - "exhibiting restrained good taste."
Another one. "Unostentatious, unpretentious."
Alright, you get the point.
But more than this blog entry being an exhibit of God's affirmation on me, I think it's worthwhile to remember that I was a broken vessel, a broken ornament which God in Jesus Christ restored again, purified, and made precious.
But first, we will start with God, "The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
Okay so it is clear that God looks at the inside. The problem I had with this verse before was I knew I did not have that. My first two to three years of my Christian walk I already saw the blackness that was in my heart that needed to be washed and purified by God. God is in the business of restoring people's lives but He begins with the inner man - the heart - and it takes an end to ourselves and our own embellishments before God can truly work what is eternally beautiful in His eyes.
On my own, I can do nothing. Man at the core of his heart is fallen. Sometimes I need to go through the end of myself before something eternally worthwhile will emerge out of my broken pieces.
Perhaps like me, you also had pain. Maybe separated families. Abuse. Poverty. I do not know what you went through. The good thing about God is He does. And He can give the cure for us to walk not based on our past anymore, and give us a good future. Some of us may have made mistakes and blew it on the purity test. But you know, when you truly want to start over, God is there. He can give you a new start. No more guilt. No more shame. A brand new start.
When you truly want to start over, God is there. He can give you a new start. No more guilt. No more shame. A brand new start.
Some of us think "I will never catch the interest of a good man because of what I did." It does not matter. God can make you new. He will start with you. He will bring you someone that has passed through God especially for you if He will. The Lord, our God, my God, does not just work in women who have it all. He can and is willing to work in the most broken of women.
Listen to this soliloquy adaptation of the Woman at the Well that Jesus changed and made new. She is no different from any of us who blew it once or more in our lives.
Whether a woman in the corporate world with a broken marriage or a woman who is an outcast and called names because of what she does for a living to feed her children. God can make you new. He can protect you. He can give you a new life. He can give you a new heart. He can make you beautiful. I pray for you that you will be comforted and renewed by this message. I pray that you will get the necessary help when you need it. Only by the love of God can it happen.
Lastly, here's a video of a song from Gwen Smith, Broken into Beautiful. I especially like songs that convey a message. I think songs have a good way of accessing the heart - the real man. Songs can also soften hearts and allow people to tap into their emotions.
Heart warming. God bless you all. A blessed Monday and week ahead!
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