But the Lord told Samuel, “Don’t look at his appearance or how tall he is,

because I have rejected him. God does not see as humans see.

Humans look at outward appearances, but the Lord looks into the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

BEAUTIFUL YOU

You are waiting to be told you’re beautiful

hoping that the person looking back at you

in the mirror will tell you a different story

than the one you’ve heard play in your head

time after time after time.

 

You want to not just look beautiful,

you want to feel beautiful because when

beautiful feels at least pretty there is

hope that maybe, just maybe, you are.

 

Everyone pressures us to be something we

cannot become because their idea of

beauty is so distorted they cannot

see that the inward becomes the outward.

What goes in comes out. That’s it. Isn’t it?

 

Ahhh … but inward beauty is the insult instead

of the compliment and pretty just doesn’t go

far enough for the image we see back at us.

Mirrors are so fickle and so are our hearts

but God knew you before you were born

as you seek Him and give Him your love

He shines right through you from every part

 

Beautiful that’s what you are … to Him. It’s in

the way He holds you when you are feeling low

it’s in the way He helps you carry your heavy load.

It’s in the way He gives you what you need to live

each day. It’s in the way He whispers peace in your

heart to comfort you on your way. It’s in His love He

gave you on that cross on Calvary and it’s in the

friends He sends you to pray for you daily. It’s in the

way He graces you with joy when you want to mourn

and it’s in the way He carries you through every gale

and every storm. Beauty to your Father is so much

different than we think and we need to know we’re

beautiful to Him in every way. So next time you gaze

upon your reflection in the mirror, whisper these words

quietly to your heart:

“I’m beautiful to Jesus and that’s the most important part.”

 

~Marcell Warner Bridges

©18 May 2015

 

An idea just slipped into my soul. Something I’ve never considered before.

 

1 Samuel 16:7 reads: But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

 

This verse is typically taught for us not to judge others by their looks because we cannot see what God sees.

But, what if we frame the verse a bit differently?

 

Do not look on your own appearance or the height of your own stature for the Lord sees not what you see, but what is in your heart.

 

We are so bent and determined to make our outward countenance and body beautiful, we forget to focus on God and allow Him to make us beautiful from the inside out. We focus all of our attention on the external instead of the internal. But through the external lens, we often do not like what we see, and we determine we are not even pretty. There’s no virtue in our looks, so there must not be any virtue in us at all.

 

This could not be further from the truth. Such thoughts are complete and utter lies of Satan.

 

The truth is, we are beautiful. We are lovely. We are pretty. Not because of our outward beauty, but the One who shines through us, making us beautiful to all who are around us.

 

Next time you step in front of the mirror, take a good look at the beautiful child of God you are and declare, “I AM BEAUTIFUL!”

 

From My Heart to Yours,

Marcie 🙂

 

 

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