Being Made New And Beautiful

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Our worship leader in church today lead us in prayer. In the middle of the prayer, she said “Lord, you make us beautiful.” This song above, “Beautiful Things,” immediately came to mind and it has been on repeat in my brain all day. It is a favorite of mine. Its words go perfectly with a reading I have found lately that has also been on my brain. I thought I’d share them with you:

From Jesus Calling:

As you become increasingly aware of My Presence, you find it easier to discern the way you should go. This is one of the practical benefits of living close to Me. Instead of worrying about what you should do if…or when… you can concentrate on staying in communication with Me. When you actually arrive at a choice-point, I will show you which direction to go.

Many people are so preoccupied with future plans and decisions that they fail to see choices they need to make today. Without any conscious awareness, they make their habitual responses. People who live this way find a dullness creeping into their lives. They sleepwalk through their days, following well worn paths of routine.

I, the Creator of the universe, am the most Creative Being imaginable. I will not leave you circling in deeply rutted paths. Instead, I will lead you along fresh trails of adventure, revealing to you things you did not know. Stay in communication with Me. Follow My guiding Presence.

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I love that my Creator does not “leave me circling in deeply rutted paths” but “leads along fresh trails of adventure.” As He does this, He guides me, changes me, grows me. Sometimes it is painful, change often is. Refining often comes through fire, and oh, how uncomfortable it can be!

Malachi 3:3

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver..

A good refiner never leaves the crucible but, as the above verse indicates, “will sit” down by it so the fire will not become even one degree too hot and possible harm the metal. And as soon as he skims the last bit of dross from the surface and sees his face reflected in the pure metal, he extinguishes the fire.

Arthur Tappan Peirson

Ecclesiastes 3:11

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Isaiah 61:3

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Isaiah 64:8

But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.