Proverb 31:30 "Charm is deceptive,
and beauty does not last, but..."
I turned 41 this year. My face is beginning to be lined. Some hair is turning gray, and my hair is getting thinner. My hands are getting age spots. So I am brought to the fleeting nature of physical beauty head on.
In addition to that, the Father recently made me aware of how I was using charm deceptively, acting to get maximum recognition for myself instead of looking for how I can bless others. Uggh!
Conversely, the second half of verse 30 at work in my life. "...but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised!"
God's Word: Truth in ALL things.
The Word is my hand-mirror, showing me my true reflection. Just as my bathroom mirror shows the physical me, the Word reveals with clarity the inner me. In both cases, sometimes I like what I'm looking at, and sometimes I don't. I'm so glad my spiritual mirror has the power to transform me into Christ's ever beautiful image. It does not leave me the same as I gaze into to it, the way a physical mirror does. It reveals my character, and then, it works with power in my life to perfect the blemishes therein.
I know the truth of Romans 7:18, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." (NIV) And along with verses 24-25 of the same chapter, I proclaim, "What a wretched [wo]man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God---through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Thanks be to God that He is daily at work in my spirit, giving me power to overcome my sinful tendencies.
- Philippians 1:6, 2:13 "...being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.... For it is God Who works in you, to will and to act according to His good purpose."
- Ephesians 1:19-20 "...His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead..."
- Hebrews 4:12-13 "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight."
- 1John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faith and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Some day, none of my charm will be deceptive because it will all be reflecting the character of Christ as I continue to place myself before the mirror of transformation, His Word. I do not want to be like the man in James 1:22-25 who looks at himself and forgets what he looks like. I want to be like the man who, after staring 'intently into the perfect law that gives freedom', does what he finds there. I want to be a hearer and DOER of the Word. I want to conform to its pattern.
Hebrews 12:2 "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is---
His good, pleasing, and perfect will."
How do I do this?
Come, look deeply into the mirror, DAILY!
As Nancy Leigh DeMoss states: "I cannot become the woman God wants me to be if I'm not spending time in His Word each day. Yesterday's nourishment isn't good enough. I need a fresh taste today." (A Daily Supply, Today's Seeking Him Journal, Revive our Hearts Ministry)
