Scriptures are from the King James Bible.
Joshua 14:10-13
And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day;...
And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb...for an inheritance.
Numbers 13:30
And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
A few days ago, I grew concerned as I viewed, on me, new signs of physical aging. Quickly, our Lord dissolved my doubts when I went on someone's blog and read these words, "You are beautiful just as you are." That particular blog is one that I don't recall ever visiting. That made it all the more special that our Lord sent me to that post. Update: Karen commented that it was her blog http://www.hopefaithlife.blogspot.com/ that I visited.
About mid-week, the doubts crept in again. Our Lord told me to search in His Scriptures for the word beautiful, and to write some of those subject citations.
Here are the ones that our Lord led me to write:
Psalm 48:2
Beautiful for situation, the joy...
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:...
Song of Solomon 6:4
Thou art beautiful, O my love,...comely as Jerusalem,...
Isaiah 4:2
In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely...
Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
The Acts 3:10
And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which happened unto him.
Later that day, I went to Lidj's blog and our Lord led me to one of her older posts. Guess what it is titled? - "Beautiful." Tears welled in my eyes as I marveled at how our Lord so dearly met me where I was.
A bit later, I went out and walked. I had on earphones as I listened to a gospel selection. Our Lord so moved upon me that, right there in public, I got demonstratively happy in the Holy Spirit. Tears flowed down my cheeks in glorious gratitude to our Lord. At one point, I was so filled that I stopped walking and lifted my arms in holy adoration. I'm not ashamed to praise our Lord in public places. For those who are inclined, here is a link to a post that I did called,
"PUBLIC PRAISE" http://lioneaglesoar.blogspot.com/2010/11/public-praise.html
As I continued to walk and cry in love to our Father, repeatedly I sang these words, "We're beautiful." I was overcome in the Spirit in a wondrous way. Glory to GOD'S amazing name!
American society, for the most part, does not promote love, respect and appreciation for those who are mature in age. They label "old" as unappealing and unattractive. That is NOT what GOD believes nor should we, HIS children. Hey people, GOD'S Word says:
Psalm 74:12
For God is my King of old,...
Psalm 92:14
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
Luke 2:36,38
And there was one Anna, a prophetess,...she was of great age...
And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
Yes, when we get older, things do "go south," but hey folks, Florida is in the south. It is called the "Sunshine state." We older ones are in SONSHINE STATES. We must purpose not to let the younger folks dismiss us. We must refuse to believe that we are less attractive because of physical aging factors. And we should not be obsessed with outward beauty. That is worldly conduct. Of course, we should do our best to look attractive and appealing but obsession is sin. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, "...for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
About four years ago, I stopped coloring my hair. Yes, I would look younger if I colored it. I reached a point when I said, "It is what it is." One of my then coworkers approached me about my gray hair. She expressed concern that it wasn't attractive. I kindly informed her that "It is what it is" and that I wasn't going to color it anymore. I'm confidently satisfied that it's attractive to the Lord, as well as to me.
Also, our Lord led me to streamline my possessions and to, overall, simplify my life. He revealed that my time investments were too much focused on stuff. I testify here that streamlining and simplifying has allowed me to put more emphasis on the more meaningful things in life - most especially - time with our Lord. My gratitude is immense that our Lord shared that with me. The benefits are priceless!
Each age category has benefits. We are to be thankful to our Lord, regardless. Since the focus of this post is primarily about the more mature in age, here I will share some benefits to remind us of our value. The more mature oak trees provide shade. The seeds and saplings haven't progressed to that level yet. We more mature agers have wisdom chests - accumulated over years. The saplings gain from our wisdom. We, those who love and serve GOD, know more about who we are - for the most part, we have found ourselves. We have loved and lost - been there done that - and are wiser for the experiences. We are more apt to recognize and discern those who are up to no good. We are typically not inclined to feel entitled - rather we are appreciative of the gifts from GOD.
Here next I will share about outward image pressures.
Particularly, in the entertainment industry there is a focus on outward beauty. Entertainers, and celebrities are pressured to look good. They do Botox, peels, and surgery in desperation to retain outward beauty. It is such bondage to be obsessed with physical appearances. I feel, particularly, for those in the entertainment industry because they are "forced" to engage in the outward beauty chase to continue to make their livings - at least, that is what they believe. When JESUS is not Lord in lives, deception is a major presence.
This made me smile:
I saw a woman with a t-shirt on that stated, "I'm not fat, I'm fluffy."
The other day when I was out and about and walking, our Lord had me to approach people and address them as beautiful and handsome. One question I asked some folks was "How long have you been beautiful?" I approached men, some with numerous missing teeth, and said, "Hi handsome." So many people smiled. It was such a pleasure to express to them about their beauty.
At one point, I came upon a man who was heavily drunk. He was sitting on a step drooling, and he looked barely conscious. There were a bunch of people yards away. I walked up to the drunken man and said, "Hi handsome. How long have you been handsome?" He seemed to quicken a bit. One thing that I know is that our Lord told me to say those words to that man. I believe that the spirit in him heard what I spoke.
As I walked away, two women looked at at me incredulously because of what I spoke to that drunken disheveled man. I kindly said to them something like, "We can see his dysfunction but some of us are jacked up on the inside where it isn't outwardly visible." Later our Lord shared with me that that man is somebody's son, somebody's father, somebody's loved one. We don't know, he could be a future minister. GOD called him handsome for a reason. Romans 4:17 says, "...before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were."
1 Corinthians 4:18
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
We, as children of GOD'S kingdom, should not focus on the things of the world. Our holy roles are not to subscribe to the world's standards. Romans 12:2 says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Colossians 3:1,2
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Love, Sandra
your mature aged sister who is immensely glad to serve GOD, our "King of old" - Psalm 74:12.
GOD calls us beautiful. His witness surpasses all others.
1 John 5:9
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater:...
Sandra
Written Saturday April 16, 2011
NOTE: This topic is posted also on my READ ONLY MAIN blog, LIONS SHARE MAJESTY at http://www.lioneaglesoar.blogspot.com/. The bulk of the responses to this topic are found in the comment section on that blog. Here is the specific link to the subject topic there http://lioneaglesoar.blogspot.com/2011/04/beauty-is-heart-deep.html
