Inward Beauty

“Do not let your adornment be merely outward- arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” -1 Peter 3:3-4

Think about that day when you rolled out of bed and got ready for your day, but your hair did exactly what you DIDN’T want it to do, your make up seemed to start running as soon as you put it on, you couldn’t make any outfit work, and on top of it all you shaved one leg, but not the other…AWESOME! Any logical female would assume that the rest of the day would follow suit, right?

According to God, none of that should matter. Yes, easier said than believed- I know! It can be hard to recover from such a terrible morning, but it can be done, I promise. On mornings such as that try taking a second to stop and re-adjust your attitude. Take a few seconds to ask the Lord to help you focus on what is eternally important--your heart and spirit. Peter says “rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit…” The “beauty” that the world sees is corruptible and temporary but the beauty that is incorruptible and eternal is one of a “gentle and quiet spirit.”

Not seeing “beauty” through the world’s eyes is something that is very hard to grasp. It is hard for our sinful hearts to look at ourselves when we’re having a terrible hair day, or can’t seem to find anything in our closet to wear, and say “Wow, I am gorgeous.” – That isn’t something we can just say and believe. Believing that takes putting aside our pride and asking God to change our hearts and realize that our beauty should be seen through the hidden person of our hearts.

I challenge you, pray that the Lord will help you to focus on making your inward beauty shine brighter than what the world sees on the outside. Maybe take a week to just throw on a t-shirt, jeans, and the joy of the Lord instead of your Steve Madden pumps and a fancy dress. I promise you, any women with incorruptible beauty can rock a plain outfit just as well as a ball gown!

By Caitlin Bradt