Resolving to See the Beauty of Christ...Even in a Good Cup of Coffee
Updated: Jan 29

God saw all that He had made and it was good indeed.
Genesis 1: 31 CSB
Do you generally make a New Year’s resolution? Some of us will want to lose weight this year and resolve to diet and exercise on a regular basis. I have read, and even commercials on tv will show, a gym will start incredibly crowded after the first of the year, but as the month of January continues, it will slowly go back to the committed few who have been working out for years. Seldom does this type of resolution last longer than a few weeks. You’d be more successful committing to drinking a good cup of coffee each day at the cost of $3.75, than you would at dieting and exercising. But, if diet and exercise are your choice for this year, I pray you are successful and you see the great benefits of both.
I have chosen, over the past several years, to focus on a word, rather than commit, unsuccessfully, to a resolution. Even though I pray God will show me any word I need from Him, I have found that when I focus, I am able to hear His voice in that specific area. This year my chosen word of focus is BEAUTY. I became focused on this word because I was feeling a sense of lacking. I’m not really sure why because I have just come off a year of successful writing and publishing, not to mention a year of travel, relaxation, and a life filled with the love of family and friends. But, getting older often causes us to look at things differently and maybe have some regret and dissatisfaction in the things we haven’t done, or succeeded in, or even the way our body is reacting to time. This was true for me this past year.
So, I chose to focus on the beauty in everything this year. Whether it be the beauty I see in God’s world, everywhere I look, or the beauty in a successful attitude, the beauty of a marriage that is full of love, the opportunity afforded me in retirement, or, the beauty of a face and body that is aging, sagging, wrinkling, yet still vibrant and sparkling because of joy and hope in a mighty God.
When we choose to place our focus in a positive area, and place our faith in God to keep us focused by the presence of the Holy Spirit, we are going to see what He has placed in front of us. This is not to say that we will never veer off track and have our heads turned toward something evil or different from our focus, but through prayer and refocus, we can be right back on track in seeing only what God wants us to see.
God’s focus during the first days of this magnificent world were simply on creating a beautiful, functional, perfect world in which to place the people He wanted to have relationship with. He spent six days perfectly focused on creation and in the end His focus produced beautiful perfection, even in the people He created. Each time He created a piece, He saw it was good! (Genesis 1:31) I bet He used a much stronger word than “good”, but Moses didn’t have a thesaurus to look through when writing the book of Genesis. Too bad God didn’t give him a stronger word. I am going to believe that God was choosing a word like magnificent or beautiful.
I know, for an absolute fact, when He created me, the word He spoke was beautiful! I believe He looked at me, in the image of Himself, and thought, “WOW, she is beautiful!”. His Word tells me He created me more precious than rubies. In Proverbs 3:15 it is written, “She is more precious than jewels; nothing you desire can equal her.” Now, I need to see and believe this in myself and remember I am made in the image of God Himself.
God has given me so much to rejoice in and see His beauty and because of His work in my life, I will greatly rejoice and my soul shall be joyful in my God! (Isaiah 61:10 CSB). For all He gives me on a daily basis; for all the times He has walked me through fire and into His salvation I will praise Him for His beauty in it all. “He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation and with righteousness as with a robe: the salvation that God will work for me will render me as beautiful and considerable as they are that are clothed with the richest garments.”[1]
What beautiful way will you begin this new year? How might you find a way to focus on God and His goodness in your life? This is definitely something to think about and begin to work towards. God’s promises are so good and go beyond all we can image. If we miss them, we will find ourselves at the end of another year unsure of our meaning and purpose, wishing we hadn’t wasted time. Maybe purchasing that great cup of coffee and sitting down for reflection will give you insight into where God wants you to put your focus.
A Prayer for Today
Lord God, I thank You for being my focus. I praise Your name because You chose me and made me beautiful in your image. Help me to always see Your purpose for me and to diligently look for beauty in Your creation, reality, and Word.
Today’s Challenge
Look back on your year and forward toward tomorrow and discover what God has planned for you. Choose a word to focus on and post it where you can remember and think on it each day.
[1] (Benson, 1857)
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