The Perfect Work of God in People’s Appearance
"For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well" (Psalm 139:13-14 HCSB).
The Scripture above is most definitely not what many people think about themselves. Instead, they think that God has made their appearance imperfect. In this Scripture, King David was expressing his appreciation for the way God made him. In addition, King David also knew God was interested in the condition of his heart (Psalm 51:17).
Furthermore, when Moses the servant of the Lord complained to God about his physical disability, God told him to appreciate the way he was created (Exodus 4:10-12). God did not change his condition right there even though He could do so; instead, He charged Moses to appreciate and accept his condition, for God was pleased to have made him like that. If God was displeased, He surely would have changed Moses' condition!
Likewise, the Lord sent the prophet Jeremiah to the potter's house to observe him while he was busy molding his clay. Strikingly, Jeremiah observed that the potter 'made it as it seemed right for him to do' (Jeremiah 18:1-4 HCSB). This illustration of the clay in the potter's hand is indicative that the clay is powerless in the hands of the potter. It has no ability to transform itself; it thus relies on the discretion and intelligence of the potter. Is humanity not like clay in the hands of the Lord God Almighty? (Isaiah 64:8). He fashioned each one of us according to His Will and for His good pleasure (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13).
Meanwhile, this generation is more concerned about their image and their appearance than their walk with God; they are more aware of how they look in the eyes of others than in the sight of The Lord. They appreciate and value everybody's opinion about them instead of God’s opinion (John 5:44). Like we said in the article Women in Pants and External Adornments, people's motive is to feel attractive and acceptable to others. They want to be complimented and they use “image” to garner respect from others. In their insecurities, they have allowed others to be their judge and to determine the value of their conscience. The pressure of conformity has robbed many God-fearing Christians of their testimony (Romans 12:1-2).
Why Are You Ashamed of Your Appearance?
When the Lord called to Adam and Eve in the Fruitful Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:9-11), they were ashamed of their appearance because they had lost their innocence before God. Similarly, many of us are haunted by negative thoughts about ourselves. We are conscious that we are not looking good enough to receive acceptance from others. We feel intimidated and inferior to other people who have the physical attributes that we don't have. So what do we do? We deny and disown ourselves and we embark on the inevitable task of transforming ourselves into the image of man, animal, and even demons. We want to be somebody else, but ourselves.
Furthermore, who told you that you don't look good enough? The answer is twofold: firstly, it is the devil with his smooth-talking voice through the media, using a face to represent his desire for your appearance, and secondly, it is those never- satisfying worldly desires we all have (Ephesians 6:12; Galatians 5:16 ). Let me put it this way: if you allow worldly desires to control you, you are defeated by the flesh (Romans 13:14). The weakness of succumbing to the demands of worldly acceptance more than what is desirable to God is eating away at our salvation. Let us reject the devil's lies and accept the Lord's truth about ourselves; you look good enough. You are "...fearfully and wonderfully made.." (Psalm 139:14).
My fellow Christian brethren, the devil, through the world system, is making the world a desirable place for the flesh, and he is sucking you into his web of deceit. The Lord Jesus Christ told us that those who follow after the image of the world will perish! (1 John 2:15) Like King Saul, we fear the voice and opinion of man more than God's commands (1 Samuel 15:24). Recently, The Lord rebuked somebody for feeding onto worldly desires. When we asked the Lord what He meant by that, He replied and said: "Everything a human being does wrong is worldly" (1 John 2:16).
As followers of Christ Jesus, we should consider what is important to The Lord rather than what is important to us. The Lord told us that those Christians who are disobedient and transform their appearance are seeking acceptance from the world, contrary to what He commanded us not to conform to the standards set by the world (Romans 12:1-2). There was a girl in our midst who desired to be a boy in her heart. The Lord revealed this wickedness to us in power and she confessed to it. He told her to appreciate the way He made her, and that her appearance is not for her good but for His, and that He made her the way she is (Romans 14:7-8). How many times do we read the headings such as "A boy or girl trapped in a boy or girl's body"? In this world, people's hearts are rebellious against God and the counsel of His Word.
As a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Messiah who died and rose again, I am not ashamed about how I look and the message He gave me to proclaim. We judge no one, but the message we received from God is a message of judgment against sin. If you, therefore, change your appearance or looks, you are sinning and show no appreciation to God for the way He made you. If we pursue our own image, we are rebelling, disobeying, and despising God's Word. If we are driven by an inferiority complex to conform to the dictates of worldliness we allow our inner weaknesses to overcome us. Those who are transforming their image are exposing their inner weakness and their shame is evident on the outside. Beware of the smooth talk of the so-called image experts; they are servants of Satan to destroy your soul. For the soul suffers when we give in to the flesh (Mark 8:36; Matthew 10:28). Therefore, wise up and trim your inner image according to the working of the Word of God (Ephesians 3:16-21).
Finally, as I conclude on this subject, beware of those "prophets" who encourage you into worldliness. They are the ones who want to boast on how they liberated you, while they take away your innocence and boast that they are sent to set you free. Only The Lord Jesus can set you free (Luke 4:18; John 8:32). These "prophets" enslave you to worldly appetites; they want you to feed onto fleshly desires which are eating your salvation away.
Heavenly Vision of the Lord Being Pleased with This Family
Background: As a God-fearing family, we are praying together every night while reading from the Scriptures. We also discuss the wrongs we did to one other and apologize. We use our evening devotional sessions to evaluate our mistakes and to learn from them. In our striving for complete obedience to the Lord, we allow the Word of God to settle our disputes and guide our conscience and decisions. Furthermore, we devote our days reading Bible while praying 3 times daily or more. This is not a religious ritual but a life of obedience and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Given to Charis on June 13, 2014
“After our morning prayers, I had a vision from the Lord regarding this family (Brother Glenn, his wife, 3 daughters and their Godly adopted daughter, Jaydeen) standing on plush green grass and each swinging around. While we were standing there smiling joyfully and playing with one another, I heard the THUNDEROUS yet audible VOICE of the Lord saying from Heaven, "I am very pleased with this family, because this family hasn’t done anything to hurt the Ministry, and even though this family makes little mistakes every day, it is not wicked things. It is only little mistakes, and I am pleased with this family, and I am going to bless this family for being so obedient to Me. This family’s example is obedience." The Lord paused momentarily, and I looked up and saw how we (the family) prayed the Lord’s Prayer together sincerely. The Lord spoke up again and said, “This family has really shaped up since the time I spoke to them and I am well pleased with them!” END.
Blessed Grace in Christ,
Brother Glenn.
