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victory
when Jesus rose from the dead he conquered death — death. he overcame the grave. it’s the ultimate story of good conquering evil. yet how often do we diminish what a victory we have through Christ because we don’t recognize the full weight of sin that he took upon Himself for us. i don’t understand how great this victory is. what good is victory if the defeat was easy? and how much more would i rejoice if i recognized what Christ conquered? and not for Himself, but for me — an imperfect human being, prone to fail and mess up. yet instead we can claim that “no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37). what is there left to fear in this world, what sin is too great, what suffering is too hard, that has not already been conquered through Christ’s resurrection from the dead? it’s because of Christ that we can celebrate the moments we resist temptation, the times we choose to forgive, choose to show grace and mercy. ”i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” he helps us resist. he strengthens our weak hearts. he gives us grace and mercy. he makes us victorious.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
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The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be."
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for the His Highest -
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart."
Proverbs 3:3 -
a beauty from above
i began this blog with the hope of capturing the things in my life and in the world that demonstrated God’s beauty, that showed His grace in the midst of my own trials and sufferings. yet here i am, a year and a half later, realizing that everyday i struggle to see the beauty that exists within myself as a woman created in the image of God. i see my brokeness, i’m consistently being humbled of my inability to do anything on this earth without the help of God, that truly everything i have is a gift undeserved, but to see myself as beautiful? it’s not an identity i tend to claim often, or ever.
it’s not a surprise that as a woman in this world i struggle with feeling beautiful. everywhere i turn i’m bombarded with images of how i’m supposed to look and what the world considers is beautiful. perfect skin. perfect body. (and i’m well aware of the fact that i’m far from perfect). yet somewhere over the past 23 years of my life i’ve created my own standard of beauty, and if it at any point i didn’t fall within those parameters, i wasn’t content. ridiculous, i know. i never stopped to really ask myself why i made it a goal of mine to, essentially, look like someone else. why my beauty become something outward to flaunt for others to see instead of an outward reflection of God’s beauty within me. why i needed the approval of others to make me feel worthwhile.
if i truly believe that i am created in the image of God, that i am His child, the daughter of a King, why do i look myself in the mirror everyday and scrutinize every single tiny imperfection when the God of the universe saw me as worthy of His attention and love before i even knew him? how is it that i have a boyfriend who compliments me everyday, yet i still try and cover up the blemishes on my face? how is it that God has abudantly blessed me with the resources to be well fed, yet i choose to skip a meal for fear of how it will affect my body tomorrow? isn’t it enough that i’m alive and have a divine purpose for my life? that i have a personal relationship with the God of this universe? and what i’m realizing is that in many areas of my life, God is enough. more than enough. but not this one. not yet. maybe not tomorrow, but He will be, one day.
i’m reminded of a passage in Ezekiel that’s a gripping reminder that our beauty, like the rest of us, is not our own.
And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.
And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.
When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.
Ezekiel 16:4-14
and what better beauty to behold than the perfect splendor of Jesus.
“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Psalm 34:5
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Our world is saturated with grace, and the lurking presence of God is revealed not only in spirit but in matter — in a deer leaping across a meadow, in the flight of an eagle, in fire and water, in a rainbow after a summer storm, in a gentle doe streaking through a forest, in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, in a child licking a chocolate ice cream cone, in a woman with windblown hair. God intended for us to discover His loving presence in the world around us….So often we religious people walk amid the beauty and bounty of nature and we talk nonstop. We miss the panorama of color and sound and smell. Nature’s lessons are lost and the opportunity to be wrapped in silent wonder before the God of creation passes. We fail to be stretched by the magnificence of the world saturated with grace. Creation doesn’t calm our trouble spirits, restore out perspective, or delight us in every part of our being. It reminds us instead of mundane chores: changing the page on the calendar or ordering our snow tires. We must rediscover the gospel of grace and the world of grace."
Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel -
Art has no faith. It only expresses the faith or lack thereof in people."
Lecrae -
It’s true we impress people with our supposed perfections, but we connect with each other in our flaws.
I’d rather be connected than perfect.
"Donald Miller
