Do I look OK?

 The first thing we do when we wake up in the morning is that we check our reflection in the mirror to make sure no dramatic changes have taken place, no extensive wrinkles have appeared and nothing is missing.  We all want to make sure that we do not have to worry about our appearance because we look Ok.  At first glance, everything looks just as it did when we went to bed the night before.  But the truth of the matter is not reflected in the mirror.  The mirror does not see things of the heart, and that’s where the changes are taking place.  We have allowed the world to change our heart, and we are not even aware of it.  But fear not, the heart is where God can do His best work if you let Him.  He will make sure we all look good before we leave His house. 

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NASB

It can be very difficult to protect our hearts from the negative influences of the world.  We seem to have a direct pathway from our eyes and ears that flow into our hearts, allowing us to see only the bad, and never the good.  In turn, we begin to channel these same harsh influences to others without even realizing it.  We internalize all of the harmful and destructive feelings, making it a part of who we are.  We allow the world to have a bigger influence over these matters of the heart, crowding out our God in the process.  We create an appearance that looks nothing like we feel in order to hide these harmful images. 

Sometimes I want to be the person who wears my feelings on my sleeve.  This way, everyone will know just how I feel, and I would not have to make any effort to hide it, even if the feelings are not that wonderful.  But the better solution to the problem is giving all of our cares and worries over to God.  When we do this, we don’t carry them around, looking to hand them off to someone who doesn’t need them because they have enough, thank you. 

Allowing our God to clean our hearts of all of the world’s mess can be helpful when it comes to our appearance. It allows God the room He needs to cleanse our hearts and minds of all the bad stuff that the world throws our way.  When we do this, we are putting on our best face for the rest of the world to see.  We are smiling in the mirror because we have the confidence that God will take care of how we look, how we feel and how we relate to others. 

How do you look today?

“in the world, not of the world”