His masterpiece.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Do you find it hard to accept compliments about your beauty or worthiness? Compliments immediately make you think of the imperfections about yourself that would disqualify you from being beautiful. I can’t be beautiful, do you see this stomach? I can’t be deserving of this promotion, they’ve been here longer than me. I can’t be used by You, God, don’t you remember that mistake I made yesterday? By blocking compliments, blessings, and opportunities, do we think we’re doing God a service? Do we think He’ll give us a gold star for essentially calling Him a liar? You see, God Himself has called you beautiful. He has chosen you and set you apart. He has justified, qualified, anointed, and equipped you. Who are you to disagree? Who am I?
I think part of the problem is that we tend to judge beauty in the eyes of what people have or have not said about us. In seeking the affirmation of culture, family members, and potential partners, we can fall into the trap of putting human opinion over God’s truth. I was talking to a friend a little while ago and God revealed this perspective. I’m not beautiful because of necessarily anything about me, but I’m beautiful because of WHO made me. It’s like how we attribute value to things based on who the designer is. The bag could be ugly but if Louis Vuitton made it, it will be deemed beautiful. We should think the same way. I might have flaws and imperfections; I might not be for everyone, but the Creator of the universe made me by hand! The same God who created the sunrises and sunsets that we marvel at also created the sparkle in my eye when I get passionate about a topic. The same God that created the unique fingerprint in a zebra’s stripes, created the unique fingerprint that differs even between twins! You are beautiful! Not because anyone chose to put you in a magazine, but because God only makes beautiful things. Stop focusing on you, and focus on WHO.
Prayer
God, You do all things well. The enemy would love to get me to focus on all the things I would like to change about myself, but today I want to focus on You. I want to focus on the attention you pay to details like the number of hairs on my head. I want to pay attention to the fact that You created man with your own hand. I want to pay attention to the fact that you personally oversaw the way my cells came together in my mother’s womb. I am Your handiwork! I love You more than nitpicking at insignificant imperfections. You said it was good; I believe you.
