How To Beautify Yourself In The Lord.

Believe- Believe that God loves you, and has great plans for your life and that all things are possible: Matthew 19:16

To beautify ourselves in God, we must first believe in him. In life, we all believe in something. When I go sit down in a chair, I believe that chair is not going to break, I believe it has enough strength to hold my weight and enough strength to keep me from falling. I wouldn't go sit in a broken chair, because I know the result will be me falling. However, I have a rocking chair at my house, and I love this chair. It's cozy and comfortable. It's strong and sturdy, and I have no doubt when I sit in this chair that it will not break. I believe, when I sit in my rocking chair, that it will hold me up. The one main reason I believe it will hold me up is because number one I built it and number two it has never failed me yet. I have never hit the ground when I sat down in my rocking chair. This is how God is. He's like my rocking chair. We need to believe that he is going to hold us up and never let us fall to the ground. All I have to do is believe in him. Why, because number one he built me, and number two he has never failed me. It will be hard to beautify myself in the Lord without believing he makes all things possible. Yes, let's emphasize all things. He makes All Things Possible, he can turn anything around, and all I have to do is believe he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. If things haven't turned around, trust and believe in due season He is going to make it beautiful and He is going to make it possible. Embrace- Embrace the gifts and talents that God has put in you and embrace how he made you: Eph 2:6-10 The second part in beautifying ourselves in God, is we have to embrace who he made us and the gifts he has placed inside of us. Embrace means to hold closely in your arms, to accept, and to support. We need to hold who God made us dear to us, hold it closely, and give ourselves a big hug. If you're a person like me, I'm always supporting others, giving, and just showing up for other people. I love putting people before myself. I know a lot of you reading this can relate. You ever have the moments when you give so much of your time to others, that you neglect to take care of yourself. I learned that just how I support others, God wants me to support myself and pour into myself. We have to embrace and support ourselves, just like we would do for a friend, family member, etc... We have to pour into the gifts that God has given us. We have to use them. We have to support them. We have to accept them. We are all different and it's important to be unique and use the unique gifts God has given us. We are sitting in heavenly places. In other words, God has a high calling on our life and has given us gifts to live out that calling. So instead of hating how we look, or letting negative thoughts fill our mind, embrace the gift, and embrace who you are. We were created in Christ Jesus and we are prepared for every beautiful work. Apply- Apply the word to your life, and apply it to everything you do: Phil 4:9 The third part of beautifying ourselves in God is applying his word. It's so important to read God's word. Why, because his word is full of promises. His word will show you who you are. I can't discover who I am without knowing God's word. There are so many people wondering who they are, but if they just take the time to read the word of God, they will realize their true identity. God's word is the key to unlocking the promises of your life. His word will uplift you in the hardest times. If we apply what we learn from God, what we heard from Him, and the things we saw Him do. If we apply it and practice it, it will bring beautiful peace to our lives. Utilize- Utilize the Holy Spirit and let him guide you and watch God utilize you to serve and encourage others. Romans 5:5-6 The fourth part of beautifying ourselves in God is utilizing the Holy Spirit. We have to use the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into everything we need. Every time we follow the Holy Spirit, it will bring forth fruit. It will bring our lives a new meaning. As we utilize the Holy Ghost, God will use us to be a blessing to others. He will use us to help encourage others. He will use our testimony and gifts to uplift someone else's life. Encouraging others helps bring joy to our lives. On my hardest days, my biggest trials, God has me encourage someone and in return, it helped encourage myself. Losing my first child was a tough situation, however by me following the Holy Spirit, I was able to minister a word in the middle of me losing my child. That word blessed everyone around me. Although it was one of the toughest things I had to deal with It brought me peace knowing that I was able to help someone else through my situation. I was only able to get through that tough situation by utilizing the Holy Spirit. If you utilize Him in every situation, he can help you find the beauty in it. We don't have to walk in shame. We have hope because God has shown his love through Jesus dying for us and by giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thanks- Thank God for everything, and give thanks every chance you get. I Thes 5:18 The fifth part of beautifying ourselves in God is giving Him thanks. In everything we must give thanks. The small, the big, the good, the bad, the easy, and the hard times, we must give thanks. God is good. No matter what takes place, everything will work out for our good. Giving thanks helps you keep your mind focused on positive things, it will help you recenter your thoughts. It will keep you from complaining, because complaining results in bitterness, and it's hard to see the beautiful life God gave us if we are in bitterness. Bitterness leads to unforgiveness, revenge, anger, and hopelessness. God has called us out of all that darkness and has called us into his marvelous light. We have to stay in that light, by giving thanks. Thankfulness leads to joy, peace, and gratefulness. Thankfulness will allow you to see God has great plans in that he can make everything beautiful in his time. Yearn- Yearn for the presence of God. Ps 84:2 The sixth part of beautifying ourselves in God is yearning for His presence. We have to long for the presence of God. You ever exercise, ride a bike, eat a meal, or sit outside on a very hot day, and end up thirsty? You need something to quench your thirst. Or have you ever been at home wishing you had something to drink? It's almost like you long for something to drink. That's how we should be for God's presence, We need to yearn for His presence. We need to be super thirsty for the Lord's presence. That's how King David felt when he sinned against God, he said Lord please don't cast me away from Your presence. He knew the presence of God was the best place to be. We have to sit in God's presence, spend time with him, and built a relationship with him. Always do TLC in your relationship with God. Be tender, show love, and care for the things of God. In conclusion, If you do these things, then you will see God's Beauty in your life. Now some of you might be wondering, God already made me beautiful so why do I need to beautify myself in God? It's important just like you wake up every day, wash your face, brush your teeth, get dressed, put on some makeup, get your hair done, or get your nails done, we do all those things to beautify our outward appearance. It's the same in God, we have to do these things to beautify ourselves in the Lord. We have to Believe, Embrace, Apply, Utilize, Thank, and Yearn to behold his beauty all the days of our lives. How to Beautify Yourself in God Believe Embrace Apply Utilize Thanks Yearn - Shaasia Jackson