God’s Word is the best beauty tool we can use to cultivate a truly beautiful heart. After we have removed the ugly sin from our heart we can become beautiful by putting on the lovely. This is part two of Becoming Beautiful Through the Mirror of God’s Word. If you missed part one, click here to catch up!
Becoming Beautiful By Putting on the Lovely
“Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel: But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves…” 1 Peter 3:3-5
Once we have removed the ugliness (sin) from our heart, we then need to put on the things that will make us truly beautiful. Here are three steps to put on the lovely in order to have a beautiful heart.
1) Look for the lovely. In the Bible we find out what God considers beautiful. Characteristics such holiness, meekness, and purity. We need to search God’s Word to find out what He thinks is beautiful. While we read the Word of God we should keep our eyes wide open for things we can “put on” our heart to make it beautiful.
2) Ask for the lovely. Once we find the things that make us beautiful we need to ask the Lord to help us apply them to our hearts. Becoming a woman with a beautiful heart isn’t always easy, but it’s God’s plan and purpose for us. He delights in making us beautiful women with beautiful hearts. Let’s ask the Lord to give us a beautiful heart. Let’s ask Him to help us “put on the lovely.”
3) put on the lovely. Now we must actually do the work (yes, work!) that it takes to have a beautiful heart. Christ is there to give us strength but it’s our responsibility to obey His Word. Becoming meek isn’t easy -but God’s Word says it’s beautiful. Keeping our hearts pure in a dirty world is tough, but nothing is more beautiful than the radiance of a pure heart. Sometimes putting on the lovely means fighting with all our might. Fighting against the flesh. Fighting against the pull of the world. Fighting against the devil and his adversaries. Let’s do the work of putting on the lovely.
The next time you look into the mirror of God’s Word: Remove the ugly and put on the lovely. Let’s make an effort to look in the mirror of God’s Word more than any other mirror.
Before you leave the house, don’t just check your hair, makeup, and outfit in the mirror. Take a peek into God’s Word and see how your heart looks.
I would Love to Know
- When it comes to beauty, which is harder for you… removing the ugly or putting on the lovely?
- What are some beautiful character traits (adornments) that you need to put on your heart?
- How can you start looking into the mirror of God’s Word more often?
Feel free to share your answers in the comments. Don’t be afraid to start the conversation and interact with one another. I ♥ hearing from each one of you!
Great points! Removing the ugly is pretty hard for me to do. I would appreciate your prayers for me as I try doing this. 🙂
Thanks for sharing… that’s probably the hardest part for me. I am thinking about creating a worksheet to go along with this to use during Bible study/devotions. I will be sure to let you know if I do!
Sure thing 🙂 we could all use the help of prayer in this area. ♥
Yes, very, very hard to remove the ugly! One main trait I need to work on is serving others. I can become so selfish in what I want to do, instead of thinking of others. Devotional books helps me read more scripture…and when I’m wondering if something is right or wrong, I try to look to the scripture to find a verse or two that would help.
Yes, some things can be so hard to change!! Looking up Scripture while reading books is a really good idea!! What are some of your favorite devotional books? 🙂
Hm, tough question. Changed Into His Image, Discover your Destiny, Ready or Not by Sara Carlson, and Things I Have Learned by Bob Jones are some of my favorites.
I’ll have to check out Things I Have Learned… it sounds like a title I would like 😉
Oh yes…each chapter is from a chapel time he preached years ago. Whoever wrote them down really grabbed the feel of his words!
This is something God’s been convicting my heart about! I’m doing Leslie Ludy’s Authentic Beauty study, and it’s definitely challenging me! It talks about purity, and how that’s not only a physical or sexual thing. It’s all about holiness! Honestly, I have no idea which one is harder, the putting on or taking off. They’re both hard! lol Sometimes it’s hard to know where our weaknesses are, until God shows us. Also, it can be easy to sometimes see WHAT we need to work on, but not to know WHERE to start! lol That’s where seeking God’s guidance comes in, of course 🙂
Great thoughts!! Thank you so much for sharing… And you are so right. We all have “blind spots”. It can be so easy to see faults and weaknesses in others, but we often have a hard time seeing our faults. I guess it’s because of pride! I love the end of Psalm 139 when David asks God to search his heart for any wicked ways. We should definitely follow his example!
I think removing the ugly part would be hardest for me! It can be so hard to break habits. 🙁 Nice post! 🙂
It is hard for me too! Thank you 🙂