This week, I tried on a sundress. It did not go well.
I think we’ve all been there. In tears in the dressing room, or even in our own mirrors, because we feel like we’re just not pretty enough (spoiler alert: we are, because everything God makes is beautiful). It’s easy to critique every little thing about our appearances because we care so much about them. We’ve got important places to go and people that we want to impress. But, let’s remember that to the most important one to impress, our outward appearance doesn’t dictate the way He feels about us. And the Bible has a few things to say about that.
We’ll be looking in three books of the Word today—Acts, 1 Samuel, and Psalms.
When we think of notable women in the Bible, we usually don’t think of how many heads they may have turned as they walked by or how beautiful everyone thought they may have been. In fact, the Bible usually doesn’t mention that, either. It focuses on Esther’s courage, Ruth’s devotion, Mary’s faithfulness, and so on and so forth. The focus is always on who these women were and how they were servants in God’s Kingdom, not what they looked like. And so, their stories show us that in our daily lives, our focus should be on who we are in Christ and how we can best serve God’s Kingdom, not what we look like (I do want to clarify, though, that there’s nothing wrong with putting effort into your appearance. The problem arises when we allow our opinions of our appearance to supersede what God says about us, and when we idolize our appearances over our servitude to the Lord).
In Acts 9, we meet a disciple named Dorcas, who was known for her good deeds and her helpfulness to the poor (Acts 9:36 NIV). When Peter makes it upstairs, where her body is lying, widows start to show him the clothing that she’d made for them. If you haven’t read this story, in the end, Dorcas is healed. What we can take from Dorcas is that she reflected Jesus, and that is what made her beautiful. We need to do the same. It’s certainly not wrong for us to spruce up our hair, put on cute outfits and do our makeup. However, what truly makes us beautiful is how we mirror the Lord. We aren’t sure what Dorcas looked like, but we do know who she followed, and that’s what’s important.
In fact, God doesn’t see appearances the way we do—they don’t matter to Him like they do to us. I know that we’re talking about women in the Bible, however, let’s turn to 1 Samuel 16, when Samuel was sent to anoint the future king of Israel (that would be David). Now, Eliab, David’s older brother, looked like a king, with strong, noble features. However, 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us, “but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'” Our appearances can’t hide the posture of our hearts. We may believe that we look like we’ve got it together, but are struggling spiritually. In the same way, we can think we don’t look like much, yet have a beautiful heart that’s completely devoted to the Lord.
Now, I know I’ve spent the last little bit talking about how our appearances don’t matter as much as we think they do, but we all still get to that point where we’re tearing ourselves down about it. We find ourselves in the dressing room again. In the mirror again. But we shouldn’t be ridiculing ourselves this way. Psalm 139:14 says “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” We have to truly know that full well, my friends.
So, no, the sundress I tried on this week may not have looked good on me, and you may think that the outfit you tried on didn’t look good on you. But the love of God sure does. Even if you’re not in a dressing room and just feeling low about yourself (I’ve been there, many times), know that God did indeed make you beautiful, from the inside out. Think about it—what could be more beautiful than a heart that loves the One who is love Himself?
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Katie Pennington is a writer and editor who is originally from Hazard, Kentucky, but currently resides with her family in central Tennessee (though she frequently visits her Appalachian roots). Her favorite Bible verse is Psalm 42:5, which reminds her that in despair, there’s hope in God, and there’s healing in praising Him.