The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be! —Zechariah 9:16-17
The fourth longing that I identify as expressing the bridal paradigm is the desire to possess beauty. We as members of the bride of Christ long to receive the impartation of the Bridegroom's beauty in our own lives. When we feel beautiful before God because of the glory of His presence, something powerful is released deep within our hearts. Jesus Christ's resurrected body is the most beautiful body imaginable! Philippians 3:21 declares that the same resurrected body will be given to the saints. When our longing to be beautiful is fulfilled in God, then our hearts enlarge in power. Although only a measure of spiritual beauty is released in this age, a little goes a long way. It is powerful to feel spiritually beautiful before God—at least a little bit. I am well aware of my sins, struggles, and weaknesses, but I also understand who I am as the bride. So I come before the Lord knowing that He enjoys me and fascinates me with His beauty. I feel genuinely beautiful before Him.
{ PRAYER STARTER }
Lord, the beauty of Your resurrected body fills me to overflowing with a desire to please You in everything I do. You make me feel beautiful in You, and all I want is to live for You.
This romance of the gospel frees us from the
enslavement of inferior pleasures, and the
domination of sinful pleasure
begins to be broken.
