31 Days of Lovely: Day 3 [A Letter to the Beautiful, Beloved Daughters...]

Today we have the privilege of hearing from a friend of mine, and fellow blogger, Alen Anthrayrose.
I thought it would be so beneficial to have us ladies hear from a man on the topic of beauty. He has some incredible insight, supported by numerous scriptures and truths. Open your heart to receive. Let God work through Alen's words.

You can read more from Alen at http://alenanthrayose.wordpress.com/.

He's a very talented writer!

"when my heart is faint, lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

Psalms 61:2b (ESV)

Dear beautiful, beloved daughter,
I wanted to write this to encourage you on your journey with the Lord Jesus Christ: sovereign and righteous Ruler of our hearts, minds, and souls. I want to write to you about something that I find to be a crucial aspect of a godly woman: confidence. Confidence is plaguing many people of both genders - but for this, I want to focus on you, beautifully created one. But before that, I want to remind you of a couple of things:

1. Remember that you are loved vastly beyond your own ability to gain any affection. There is nothing that you can do to earn more love from God, who is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
2. Your solid rock is Christ: crucified on your behalf for your sins, bearing the just punishment of sin for your salvation; This work was not from any ability of your own, but grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). It was Jesus who laid His life down on His own accord (John 10:15, 17).
3. You are never too far away from grace because Jesus died at the right time, not too late (Romans 5:6-8). You are not beyond grace, or even hope.
4.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made, knitted together by the hands of a great God (Genesis 2; Psalms 139:13,16).
5. God not only created you with his hands (of whose beauty you reflect), He also gave you a specific set of gifts, activities, services meant to upbuild the body and those around you (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).

Remember these things; these are truths from the Word of God that have empowered many (men and women alike).

Now, onward to confidence: confidence has been defined as having "firm trust". What is it that holds your trust? Is it the way that people look at you, knowing your loved, or is it deeper? I am going to say that it really is deeper: we lack confidence because we don't feel secure on a solid ground.

For you, beloved daughter of the King, it can be the glances from us men that you draw from and then, maybe we let you down, leading you to looking to other women for affection because guys won't turn their heads towards you; or you jump from man to man - looking for them to give you affirmation that would allow you to walk and live, knowing that you are loved as you firmly trust in their ability to give what you cannot do on your own. Maybe rejection has lead to you afflicting yourself with harm by cutting, or even contemplating suicide. Your feeling alone because no one pays attention to you, and that is turning you into wanting some acknowledgement form anyone who will care. Maybe, with you seeking to fulfill your emptiness, you sought out someone - leading you to have sex, hoping that love would soon follow - making you more confident because there's someone that acknowledges you, but it has only left you hurt, broken, insecure, and unconfident.

I want to let you know, rather remind you, that the assurance and truth you're looking for is found in one place - Jesus Christ. What does that mean? It means that you are more than just "fitting in" somewhere; you are affirmed by the God of the universe - Creator of the man (or woman) that you long to be approved by; and it has nothing to do with your ability! You cannot gain or lose His love and affirmation.

I want you to be full of joy in knowing that my heart goes out to you, and I pray and hope that you would taste and see that God is truly greater than the affirmation and confidence that man can give you. Confidence is no longer resting in your ability to woo others, but in Christ - who has woo'd you to Him. Be still and know while remembering this: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is your confidence in all things.

Longing for His coming and your joy,
Your Brother-in-Christ,
Alen