True Beauty Begins With Prayer . . .

“To possess true beauty, we must be willing to suffer. . . . if Christ Himself was perfected through His sufferings, why would I believe that God would not do the same with me? Women who are stunningly beautiful are women who have had their hearts enlarged by suffering.”
~ Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul by John and Stasi Eldredge

Have you ever noticed how some women have use their suffering as a way to attract attention to themselves? Have you noticed how some women are just desperate for the rest of us to know all the details of their distress and misery? Have you noticed how they seem to float from person to person -- friend to friend, repeating their story to anyone who will listen? Does it trouble you at all to watch them go habitually from person to person, telling each about all her personal problems and difficulties, relishing every new chance she finds to weigh down someone else with her problems?

Surely you know someone like this.

Maybe you are the one guilty of suffering all over everyone else’s life.

Would you say this woman possesses true beauty?

I'll be honest. I've known a few.
"True" and "Beauty" are not words I'd used to describe them.
"Annoying" and "Troubled:" Yes.

The woman who loads all her troubles onto others and then expects them to do all the praying for her is revealing her own spiritual immaturity -- and her own refusal to accept God's gift of healing and genuine inner beauty.

It’s when we endure and suffer in the presence of God alone – pleading for his patience and grace and mercy -- that we truly join Christ in suffering and see our hearts enlarged. Recall Christ's suffering on the Cross. . . There was no drama or showy expression of suffering. There was no plea for intercession by others. What did happen was that Jesus prayed.

There simply comes a time when talking to people needs to stop and prayer and spiritual maturity must begin:

"Is any among you afflicted? Let [her] pray. . ."
~ James 5:13

Now . . . Let's consider Peter’s words in I Peter 3:3-4:

“Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden [wo]man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of god of great price.”

It is just plain wrong – incorrect – erroneous – dishonest – and a misinterpreting of Scripture to believe that this passage tells us that wearing jewelry or cosmetics is a sin. If you look at this verse in context you will see that Peter was not bothered by women wearing jewelry or cosmetics. Not at all! Instead, he was telling women not to invest all their time in their outward appearance while forgetting to invest time in developing their hearts.

See, the women of the First Century – particularly the upper class Greek and Roman women – were obsessed with their outward appearance. They were flamboyant in their hairstyles, spent vast amounts of money on cosmetics, arrayed themselves in luxurious jewelry and wore extravagant clothes.

Peter was not condemning this. There was nothing wrong with the desire to look nice --

. . . And as a women who LOVES her cosmetics and jewelry, I take great comfort in this!

-- except that it consumed so much time that many women had forgotten completely to adorn their hearts.

Only God, our Creator, can adorn a heart. And only God can change a heart. And this only happens when it is requested in prayer.

In our grief and suffering, HE is with us and changes our heart.

In our anger and frustration, HE is with us and changes our heart.

In our pain and affliction, HE is with us and changes our heart.

In our doubt and uncertainty, HE is with us and changes our heart.

In our prayer and meditation, HE changes us into His likeness and it is only then that we possess true beauty

Do you possess true beauty?

Who do you know that possesses true beauty?

~ Esthermay Bentley-Goossen

© 2008 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife

In Other Words is hosted today by Nina at Mama’s Little Treasures.

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