::Will Your Beauty Be Destroyed?::

For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.

James 1:11

A lot of girls today put tons of time and effort into their appearances, more so than on any other area of their life. God's Word tells us that external beauty doesn't last forever. Even if you are the prettiest girl in your high school, external beauty will only get you so far. We need to remember that our true beauty comes not from what is outside, but from what is within us. Our internal beauty can never fade away or disappear, but grows and blossoms more beautifully with each passing year. In order for our inner beauty to grow, we have to spend time nourishing it. You know all of that time we spend making sure that our external appearance is up to par? What if we spent the same amount of time on our internal beauty? What if we spent that time reading our Bibles, praying, or worshiping God?

We have to be aware that our external beauty lasts only for a moment. Does it really matter if we are the prettiest girl at school? Probably not. Will our external appearance get us our dream job? It depends on what our dream job is, but probably not. Do we really want to marry the guy that is only dating us because he thinks we're hott? No. Yet there we are in front of the mirror each morning nit picking our external appearance, while ignoring our inner beauty, the beauty that really matters. Our internal beauty is what we hope our future husbands are attracted to. Our inner beauty will be what is remembered by our high school friends. And our internal state is what determines where we spend eternity; after all, our inner beauty comes from Christ, and without Him nothing else matters.

While we know that our external beauty will wither with old age and eventually be destroyed, we can also know that even if we live to be over 100 years old, we can radiate our internal beauty for the world to see, if we are willing to put the effort into it and let Christ transform us into His likeness.

Reflection:

Do you put more value into your outward appearance, expecting to live life one your external fading beauty, or on your inner, lasting beauty.

Application Step:

For the next week, make the commitment to spend as much time on your inner beauty as you do on your external appearance.

Prayer:

Father God, I need you. I tend to spend too much time on my external beauty, and put more value on it then I do on my true beauty. Please forgive me for elevating myself over you. Help me to put my external appearance into proper context, and help me to make you my top priority in my life, Lord. I beg you to work inside of me and transform me into your likeness. Help my personality to reflect you. I want to be beautiful on the inside and show others how wonderful you are. Thank you, Father, for all that you do for me. Thank you for showing me my faults, and for guiding me through this life. Thank you for never abandoning me, but for always being there with me to help me learn new things and get through the difficult times. Amen.