February 18th, 2022
Hello, friends! Today's devotion comes from Stacey Eisenlohr. Stacey is a very dedicated follower of Christ whom we are blessed to worship and serve with here in Absecon. Let's see what Stacey has to share with us today!
- Reverend Dave
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You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well. (Psalm 139:13-14 NCV)
Who of us hasn’t stood in front of the mirror and thought “Ugh! Is that what I look like?” Especially first thing in the morning! We see a reflection that we find lacking beauty because we tend to focus on what we perceive as flaws. After all, that’s what we’ve been told, over and over…..
You’re not pretty enough! You look old! You’re too fat! Your teeth are crooked and they’re not white enough! You have wrinkles! Your hair has too much gray! It’s frizzy or it’s too thin!
How about: your clothes aren’t stylish! You need cuter shoes. You don’t measure up! You don’t fit in because you’re just not beautiful/handsome enough!
What does God say to us? He tells us in the above verses that He made us so creatively and spectacularly to be unique, special creations. Lovingly crafted by His own hands and cherished beyond what we can grasp. To top it off, He tells us He made us IN HIS IMAGE so we look like Him! Astounding!
I know it’s human nature to survey our appearance and wish we had different color eyes, a nose that’s shaped differently and a host of other critiques that frankly pale to His perfect design. I pray that we ignore the shouts in Social Media that tell us we’re not perfect and we never will be. Then we can move forward empowered with His strength to love others as God desires but we can’t love others as ourselves if we don’t love ourselves first.
Let’s take the mirror that lies to us and smash it, then throw it in the garbage. It’s broken anyway!
- Stacey Eisenlohr
- Reverend Dave
_________________________
You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well. (Psalm 139:13-14 NCV)
Who of us hasn’t stood in front of the mirror and thought “Ugh! Is that what I look like?” Especially first thing in the morning! We see a reflection that we find lacking beauty because we tend to focus on what we perceive as flaws. After all, that’s what we’ve been told, over and over…..
You’re not pretty enough! You look old! You’re too fat! Your teeth are crooked and they’re not white enough! You have wrinkles! Your hair has too much gray! It’s frizzy or it’s too thin!
How about: your clothes aren’t stylish! You need cuter shoes. You don’t measure up! You don’t fit in because you’re just not beautiful/handsome enough!
What does God say to us? He tells us in the above verses that He made us so creatively and spectacularly to be unique, special creations. Lovingly crafted by His own hands and cherished beyond what we can grasp. To top it off, He tells us He made us IN HIS IMAGE so we look like Him! Astounding!
I know it’s human nature to survey our appearance and wish we had different color eyes, a nose that’s shaped differently and a host of other critiques that frankly pale to His perfect design. I pray that we ignore the shouts in Social Media that tell us we’re not perfect and we never will be. Then we can move forward empowered with His strength to love others as God desires but we can’t love others as ourselves if we don’t love ourselves first.
Let’s take the mirror that lies to us and smash it, then throw it in the garbage. It’s broken anyway!
- Stacey Eisenlohr
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