Where Beauty Comes From | Qualities of Women Who Trust Jesus

“One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.”
- Psalm 27:4

Maya Angelou is credited for saying, “If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.” Let’s take her wisdom a step further: if you don’t know who you’ve come from, you don’t know who you are.

Disney masterfully illustrates what I mean.

In a sweet story about a confused boy searching for his identity, the movie Coco captivates those of us who can relate to his struggle. You see, Coco belongs to a family that has banned music from their lives, yet he has an undeniable passion and gift for music that he can’t ignore. Within him, there is a magnetic draw toward learning to play guitar and sing, but because his family is completely resistant against music, he is forbidden from playing and singing. Feeling out of place and useless, he can’t make sense of his situation.

The climax of the story comes when Coco learns that Ernesto de la Cruz, a famous musician, is his grandfather! It all becomes clear. Music is in his blood, and he’s destined to bring beautiful art into the world through his musical talents. It wasn’t until Coco learned who his grandfather was that he was able to understand his own identity and embrace his calling to add beauty to the world through music.

Similarly, in order for you and I to understand who we are, we have to learn who our Father is. What is He like? What’s important to Him? Learning the answers to these questions increases our understanding of God, which in turns increases our understanding of ourselves. Only then do the clouds of confusion clear, making it possible for us to reflect the beauty of God that runs in our blood.

As we peel back the layers of who God is, we become more amazed at the fact that He’s our Father. From Him we originate and to Him we belong (Romans 11:36). Our talents and passions, interests and desires, ideas and resources all come from Him — everything we have comes from Him (1 Chronicles 29:14)!

To the degree that we increase our knowledge of God and the qualities that make up His character, we also increase in understanding our own identity and calling.

In order to gain this knowledge, we go straight to the source: the Bible. It speaks of His holiness, justice and sovereignty. It describes His all-powerful, all-seeing and all-knowing qualities. It methodically and artfully unveils His mercy, kindness, compassion and unrelenting love. And it irresistibly reveals perhaps the most emphasized characteristic of all: His glory.

John Piper defines God’s glory as “the infinite beauty and greatness of God’s manifold perfections… all of His perfections and greatness are beautiful as they are seen, and there are many of them.”

No wonder why the author of Psalm 27 highlights the beauty of the Lord as his one desire. The longer our eyes gaze on His beauty, the more our hearts are satisfied. His beauty all at once gratifies our deepest longings and awakens our appetites for more of Him. We scrape and claw our whole lives in desperation to find what our souls are searching for when it is His beauty all along that would delight us like nothing else.

By way of His word and the ministry of His Spirit, we are made aware of His glory, His beauty, in greater measure. We catch glimpses of Him and realize with a fresh perspective that we were made in that image, in His image. And that’s when it hits us. If everything we have and everything we are comes from Him, then we share in His beauty— contributing beauty to the world in our own unique way as we reflect His likeness.

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:17)

Here’s the bottom line. We struggle to feel beautiful because we forget where our beauty comes from. If our definition of beauty is steeped in outward appearance, youthfulness or looking within ourselves for its source, then we’re in trouble. But if we remember that the source of beauty is our loving Creator-Father, then we will realize that reflecting His beauty is a natural by-product of belonging to Him.

As His daughters, we can walk in humble confidence, more aware with each passing day that we are beautiful.

For Your Journal

Find It:

In this portion of your journal, write out a Bible verse. You can find a verse that fits a current life situation or use the one we used in today’s devotion.

“One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.”
- Psalm 27:4

Fix It:

In this portion of your journal, pull out a few key words from the verse you chose above, or summarize the verse in your own words. Write it in pretty lettering or sketch something that will help you visualize the meaning of the verse and fix it in your mind. Repeat these words to yourself throughout the week to remind you of the truth contained in the scripture. Here are some options:

One thing

The beauty of the Lord

GAZE (let this word be a reminder of where to look for the source of beauty)

Feel It:

In this portion of your journal, write out a prayer. The goal is to absorb the meaning of the Bible passage and let it take root in your heart. Ask the Lord to let his word change you by the power of his Spirit. Surrender any areas of your life that you are trying to control.

Father God, experiencing beauty within this world you’ve created is an enormous blessing that you didn’t have to give me. Thank you for creating me with the ability to be delighted and to be a delight. I look to you to define beauty for me. Help me to remember that I have come from you— the most beautiful source of all— and that I reflect your beauty simply by being your daughter. Let this truth seep into my heart today so that I can walk in humble confidence of who you are and who I am in you. Let the beauty I contribute to the world be about you and not about me. From you and through and to you are all things (Romans 11:36). Amen.