Looking to the Lord for Fulfillment

At the end of chapter three in our text, we find a lie that we must consider before proceeding to chapter four. The lie is, "I should not have to live with unfulfilled longings."

We will counter this lie with the following Scripture that speaks of our future glory with Christ. This is Romans 8:22-25 and we will read it the New Century version:

"We know that everything God made has been waiting until now in pain, like a woman ready to give birth. Not only the world, but we also have been waiting with pain inside us. We have the Spirit as the first part of God's promise. So we are waiting for God to finish making us his own children. I mean we are waiting for our bodies to be made free. We were saved, and we have this hope. If we see what we are waiting for, then that is not really hope. People do not hope for something they already have. But we are hoping for something that we do not have yet. We are waiting for it patiently."

Don't you see that we want God alone to be the object of our deepest longings? In the flesh, we see something that we must have, and then we find ourselves striving toward the goal of obtaining it. Our desires, our wills, and even our prayers are directed to fulfilling this particular longing. When we cannot achieve it, when our prayers go unanswered, then we become disappointed, disgruntled, and depressed.

I like to think that when I asked Jesus into my life, He came to dwell in my heart. When I asked Him to be the Lord of my life, then He sat on the throne in my heart. As I bow before Him as His servant, He maintains His rightful place in my life. Then, I find that there are times when I shift my focus to myself. I care only about my needs, my wants, and my own unfulfilled longings. Do you know what has happened then? I took the Lord's place on the throne! What happened? Where is the Lord? Well, He is still there in my life, but not where He should be. It is then that I stand, turn around, and kneel before the throne and ask Jesus to be Lord once again.

The Lord Jesus Christ points us toward our future home, where we will never be disappointed. People and things will fail us, but our Lord will not. It is true that our very insides groan as we wait for the purposes of God to be accomplished. Our challenge is to hold on and be patient as we give the Lord all of our expectations. "...you should try as much as you can to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add the ability to hold on; and to your ability to hold on, add service for God." 2 Peter 1:5-6.

God has a purpose for everything He allows or does not allow, including not giving us every heart's desire. He is doing something much greater in our lives, and we must learn to trust Him for it. He is building character and guiding us to be more Christ-like.

Thank you, Lord, for building into my life the qualities You know that I need. Thank you for pointing me in your direction, and give me the grace to always focus on You. Please take your rightful place in my life, and help me to look to You only to fulfill my longings. I love You, Lord. Amen."

Love, Karen

The Allure of Outward Beauty

The Word of God has much to say about a woman's lasting beauty. Let's take a look at some of the verses and take heed of the instruction.

1. Proverbs 31:30, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

2. 1 Timothy 2:9-10, "in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing."

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

The Bible teaches women to show moderation and not to be extravagant in their appearance, whether in their hair or clothing. In this world, we are surrounded by the lies "shouting" out to us that we must conform to the "perfect" standard of outward beauty. This outward beauty comes by way of the right hair product, diet, clothing style, cosmetics, and expensive jewelry. A great deal of time and money can be spent on maintaining this ideal, but, you see, it is all temporary. It does not last, and as the flower that fades in the winter, so does this kind of beauty.

What is this inward beauty that we have read about? It comes from an inward strength of character that we have already defined as meekness. The beautiful glow of a countenance comes from the transformation and the renewing of the mind. When we know our identity in Christ, we are secure and have nothing to fear, and it shows in the very expression on our face.

As women who want to learn more about the Truth of God's Word, we must reject the extremes of the world around us. Satan hates our bodies because they are created in the image of God. Our enemy wants to destroy us, and he always lies to us first and tries to deceive us into believing that we are ugly, or that we do not fit in because of our outward appearance. He convinces us that we must correct the way we look, and as we know, some have taken that to extremes.

One Truth that we must face is that our bodies are dying. These "tents" of ours are temporary and are not eternal. However, our spirits and the Word of God will last forever. As we feed our spirits with the Word, God will adorn us with incorruptible character that is precious to Him. And if we know we are beautiful to the Lord, we are at peace within. Just like Moses, others can tell when we have been with the Lord, and it is a beautiful sight.

May we spend our time with the One Who loves us.

Love, Karen