God’s Beauty
Sharon W. Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
Dear Friends,
How often do you cringe when you hear the word “submission”? Does it feel like a punishment, or have you discovered “beauty secrets” hidden within its practice? Our guest writer for this week, Awara Fernandez, challenges us to consider the differences between fleeting beauty and the genuine beauty described by Peter:
Your adornment must not be merely external - braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way, in former times, the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him her lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.
1 Peter 3:3-6 NASB
Sadly, we live in a culture that demands we avoid any signs of aging, offering anti-wrinkle creams, supplements for endless youth and energy, and treatments that maintain lush, thick locks of grayless hair. My bathroom drawers hold more of those products than I care to admit. But this passage showcases a different kind of beauty - one that lasts and starts on the inside. Unfortunately, we often also buy into the “world’s” perverted view of submission and miss the long term beauty it brings.
Awara, a prolific writer, gives us unique insights into this scripture and gently encourages us to embrace the promise of the transforming power of biblical submission. I was especially struck by Wednesday’s devotional, where Awara shares a particularly poignant picture of the beauty submission to God’s faithfulness creates:
“Several years ago, my granddaughter, Eva, who was alive and healthy on the Thursday before her birth, was strangled on her umbilical cord the next day, Friday. But, none of us knew that. When she was born on Sunday, she was already living in heaven with her Lord while our family plummeted down to the deepest, darkest valley of the Shadow of Death. One morning, a few days after Eva’s funeral, I was upstairs in my daughter Kathryn’s home, when I heard a sweet voice singing. I stopped what I was doing and listened as Kathryn, Eva’s grieving mother, sang, “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father. Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me.” I was stunned. “All she has needed, Lord? Really? She just buried her daughter!” I thought to myself even as I knew that Kathryn had stepped onto holy ground, and she had a heavenly audience.”
I’m so grateful I met Awara through her writing and for her willingness to share her journey with us. Our clarion call this year is to share the help and hope of Jesus with that “one more person” who desperately needs His light. Friends, this week’s devotions are designed with that one more person in mind. Let me know if that person is you!
Treasured by Him,
Sharon
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PRAYER
Father, thank You for the way You equip and encourage us through Your people. Sometimes the answer to our question is right in front of us but we need a fellow traveler to point it out. I pray for that one person who is pushing against submission to Your plans, who needs to take the simple, but often difficult step, of choosing worship as a means of reflecting submission to You.
Are there other women in your life who could benefit from a daily dose of encouragement? Forward this email so they can click on this link to Subscribe to Daily Treasure to be better equipped to walk by faith on the pathway God has marked out for them.
Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
Contact Sharon with comments or questions at dailytreasure@markinc.org.