The ongoing success of the beauty industry shows the great value people place on “good looks.” In addition, a widespread sense of deficiency in this area must be real, because America leads the world in the volume of plastic surgery done. This position proves the undeniable existence and robust promotion of a specific standard of beauty. Yet even if a woman succeeded in being the most beautiful person ever to die, she would still have needed a “divine makeover.”

Psalm 149 calls on God’s people to sing a new song about God’s beatification abilities.

Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song; praise Him in the assembly of the saints!….For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation and adorn the wretched with victory. Let the saints be joyful in the glory and beauty which God confers upon them; let them sing for joy upon their beds. (Psalm 149:1, 4-5)

Humbling ourselves to accept the salvation and help of God is the first step in the “divine makeover” of our heart.

The bible has many things to say about the “before” condition of our heart.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9

For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come–sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. (Mark 7:21)

For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. (Matthew 13:15)

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21)

Our heart is cluttered with sin and in disarray. Sin separates us from a perfect God, but out of love, He gave us a “makeover” opportunity to bring our heart to where it needs to be in order to have a relationship with Him. (And consequently have access to all the promised gifts He gives to His people….forgiveness, new life, power, peace, joy, hope, and most of all, eternal destination!)

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

For the wages of sin is death, (eternal separation from God) but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

All of us need a “divine heart makeover” to have a right relationship with God.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Romans 3:23

Waiting to start God’s “beauty” treatment is much more foolish that neglecting good skin care!

For He says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, NOW is the time of God’s favor, NOW is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2

Accepting God’s salvation through Christ is our most important “beauty” effort, and our ongoing heart renovation gives us internal “good looks” with huge eternal value.

And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Cor. 5:15

One final thought.

The current interpretation of “beautiful” seems to contradict the origins of the word, which in the Greek is similar to an adjective that is reflective of the word “hour.” The idea was “being of one’s hour.” A ripe fruit was beautiful. In any season of life, to be beautiful was to be “ripe” in one’s hour. (Within this concept, a young woman would not strive to look more mature and a mature woman would not strive to look younger.)

Consider this.

Our best “of the hour” beauty seasons are NOT the ones resulting from time spent in the beautician’s chair or spa resort.

Our “most beautiful” times ARE when we maintain a “ripe” and not “rotten” state in our relationship to God!

Have you experienced a “heart makeover” by Divine Design?

Then TODAY you are the most beautiful!

My Prayer

I praise you God for seeing me for who I really am- a heart in need of a divine makeover. Forgive how I have diminished, by my obsessions in the external, the value of ALL Your creation! Help me see others and myself with Your vision. With great abandon, I want to join these Psalm singers in gratitude for Your willingness to re-establish the beauty of those You created. You could have chucked us all in the trash instead of investing in the glorious recycling program of sending Christ- yes, the Christmas child, to re-make our evil infested hearts into reflections of Your glory! Thank you! May all Honor and Glory be Yours forever—because there is no one else worthy! Amen