Day Four: A DIVINE UNDERTAKING


Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
—PROVERBS 3:5–6

Rabbi Efraim Davidson of the DoJewish Campaign of Atlanta spoke with me about the legacy of beauty and faith. “When the Jews were enslaved in Egypt,” he explained, “the men were humiliated all day long, degraded. The women took special care to make themselves look beautiful, so that when their husbands came home, they felt respected. It made them feel human again.” Beauty was not about how the women judged themselves, but the effect it had on those around them. It reached the men’s souls where words could not.

“Later,” Rabbi Davidson tells us, “when the Jews were freed from their slavery, the women gave their mirrors to be used in constructing the tabernacle.” Beauty had been a sacred service that honored God. Beauty was indeed a part of their worship, a way to honor God in their physical lives, and a winsome reminder that our earthly lives can be given in sacred service in many ways. You can reach for God, even in this distinctly feminine preoccupation, and confidently expect Him to take hold of you and lead you into a safe and honored place.

As we talk about beauty in this book, let go of all your preconceived notions about what beauty is and is not. “Lean not on your own understanding,” but ask God to reveal Himself in everything.

Ask: God, help me to let go of my own answers and seek Yours instead.

Believe: God will use the questions of beauty to bless my life richly, in ways I cannot imagine yet.

OceanofPDF.com