Like most females, when given the chance to check my reflection I do. Is there lipstick on my teeth? Did the wet spot from the spilled drink dry? Is my shirt tucked in all the way around? But, at certain stages of life, I really didn’t like mirrors. While pregnant, I didn’t love my growing waistline. (But I loved the end result of a precious baby!) In chemo, I didn’t love the loss of hair and absence of color from my face. I avoided looking at my reflection. You might have called it, “The Fear of the Mirror.”
I wonder how often I choose not to look at the inside of me – no, not my tissue or organs, yuck! I’m pondering my thoughts, attitudes, and ideas. How easy is it for me to not look at those, but to busily occupy myself with other things? Maybe I have a “Fear of the Spiritual Mirror.”
God wants us to spend more time considering the inside than concerning ourselves with the outside. “Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both this present life and the life to come.” (I Timothy 4:8) Proverbs 31:30 reminds us, “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
God wants us to consider the inside, and to focus on spiritual matters. He wants us to develop disciplines that will draw us closer to Him. He even gifted us a conscience, the Holy Spirit, to prick us when we are drifting off course. John 14:26 reminds us, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
The Holy Spirit is our advocate- He is for us! He wants us to succeed.
God gave us the guidelines on how to do life. As we spend time in His word, those words get into us. And when we might need them most, the Holy Spirit helps us remember them.
How much do you like looking in the mirror? Do you appreciate when your conscience is pricked, seeing it as an opportunity for growth and improvement? If you’re like me, the answer might be, “not always.”
It can hurt to look in that mirror, seeing things for how they really are, and not how I imagined them, Yet, we can improve. That is exactly why we have the gift of the Holy Spirit.
He is there to show us, to prick us, and to move us to action. He is a gift to us, to help us do life better and witness for God. Let’s try to be honest with ourselves and learn how we can improve and accomplish those goals. Let’s ask God to help us develop an attitude for just that.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I don’t want to have a fear of mirrors. Please help me be honest with myself. Help me to truly see what you see. Please remind me of what you want for me and help me to implement those practices into my life. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit and the fact you gifted an advocate- someone who is for me and will help me. In Jesus’s name, Amen.