11/15/2023

The Desire to Behold Beauty

The Seven Longings of the Human Heart

As we continue our week-long focus on the desires of every heart, today we’re going to look at the desire we all share to behold beauty.

Introduction

As we continue our week-long focus on the desires of every heart, today we’re going to look at the desire we all share to behold beauty. God has created beauty all around us, beauty we can see and beauty we can feel. And in a world so inundated with false notions of beauty, today my prayer is that God reveals the purity within this longing that resides within each of our hearts, and his perfect plans to satisfy it.

The main concept for this week is derived from The Seven Longings of the Human Heart by Mike Bickle and Deborah Hiebert.

Scripture

“For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he will beautify the humble with salvation.”
Psalm 149:4 (AMP)

Devotional

Beauty is captivating in all its forms. From sunsets to mountain tops, flower petals to starry nights, we devote countless hours, years, and even lives to the wonder and pursuit of beauty. We write songs and poetry in devotion to that which inspires us with its beauty. We spend our blood, sweat, and tears in attempt to discover if we have any beauty within ourselves. We are a people marked by a need for beauty—an insatiable desire that can only be satisfied in its Creator.

For a long time I tried to rid myself of the desire for beauty. I tried simply not to want it. I equated this desire within me to a pursuit of vanity that seemed only to end in destruction. It wasn’t until my desire for beauty began to find its satisfaction in God that I discovered God’s original purpose behind it.

The desire to behold beauty is an incredible gift given to us by our heavenly Father. Every time we look upon something beautiful we get a glimpse into the beautiful heart of God. Our God is a perfect creator who makes beautiful things. Everything he is and does is beautiful in its own way. So when you feel a desire to be beautiful or see beauty, you are really feeling a desire for the Almighty, Triune God. You were created with an insatiable need to look upon your Creator in all his power and glory that you might stand in awe of his indescribable beauty for all eternity. And you have a longing to hear the voice of your heavenly who calls you lovely no matter how you look in the world’s eyes or what you’ve done.

Psalm 27:4 says, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” May we pursue the beauty of God and live in the glorious freedom of boundless communion with him. May our questions of whether we are beautiful find total fulfillment in the perfect perspective of he who shines forth in perfect beauty. And may we find satisfaction in all that is beautiful by acknowledging beauty that exists because of our beautiful God—limitless and perfect in all he does.

Take time in guided prayer to look upon your Creator. Gaze at the beauty of the Trinity. Let him tell you how he sees you. Listen as he speaks into the deepest recesses of your heart and satisfies places the world could never even reach. He longs for you to know how beautiful you are to him. He longs for you to stand in awe of the wonders of his perfect, true, and unconditional love. May your time be marked by clear revelation from the Holy Spirit into the heart of God.

Prayer

1. Take time to meditate on what the Bible says about God’s beauty.

“Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.” Psalm 96:6

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

“And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” Ezekiel 1:26-28

2. Ask the Spirit to reveal to you how God sees you. Ask for a revelation of your beauty to him.

“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him…” Colossians 1:21-22

“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.” Song of Solomon 7:10

“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” Song of Solomon 2:14

3. Take time to rest in the truth of God’s heart. Allow his thoughts to sink into your heart. Journal how God sees you and how it makes you feel.

Worship

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The more you behold the beauty of the Lord and receive the knowledge of his perspective, the more you will experience freedom and unshakable joy. You are beautiful in his sight. Nothing can change the fact that you are fully loved by a perfect God. Rest in the peace and joy of that truth today. May his love lay a firm foundation for you to live secure and unshakable as your desire for beauty is wholly satisfied.

Extended Reading: Psalm 149 or watch the Bible Project’s video on Psalms.

Rest in the peace and joy of that truth today. May his love lay a firm foundation for you to live secure and unshakable as your desire for beauty is wholly satisfied.

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