14 Your fame soon spread throughout the world because of your beauty. I dressed you in my splendor and perfected your beauty, says the Sovereign Lord.
15 “But you thought your fame and beauty were your own. So you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was theirs for the asking.
Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Beauty can be seen as talent in the sports arena and also in the selfless acts of people every day. On the contrary, where we find the absence of beauty, we use the terms ugly or detestable to describe certain acts. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” we’ve all heard. It’s true. What one person views as beautiful, another may see differently. This isn’t bad, it’s just how we’re made. We each see the beauty God has given us in different ways. But what is beauty if no one sees it?
The Lord is speaking to Ezekiel about Israel in the verses above. It tells us that God had bestowed beauty upon Israel. This beauty was a godly beauty, and it attracted many people, just like beauty attracts people today. It is alluring and appealing. In Israel’s case, their fame spread among the nations because of the beauty the Lord had given them. Their beauty was made perfect when God’s splendor was upon them. In other words, the Lord had His hand on them and blessed them, and the Bible says their beauty was made perfect.
Their beauty was not made perfect until the Lord’s splendor was on them. Take away the splendor of the Lord, and the next verse comes true. The Bible says they trusted in their beauty and used it to become a prostitute. Instead of trusting in the Lord, they chose to trust in their beauty and used it as payment for detestable things.
The devil tells a great lie. He tells you that you don’t have to conform to the ways of the Lord to be happy. After all, you’re beautiful, use it, and you’ll go far. We’ve bought into this lie and elevated it to epic proportions in our world. The beauty the Lord has given us has been used for personal gain. And once you prostitute yourself to sin, the lie train comes along and takes you further away from the Lord.
Today, sit back and recognize all the Lord has given you. It is beautiful, and it is blessed because the Lord has His hand on it. It says in Ezekiel 15:8, “I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful.” Look around, and if you see a desolate place, you might want to check your faithfulness to the Lord. Beauty is blessed and prospers when we recognize it as from the Lord and remain faithful to Him. But when we prostitute our beauty through detestable acts or ungodly practices, we invite desolation.
Prayer: Father, help us recognize when we are selling ourselves out to idols and detestable practices. We understand that this selling out is a slow fade until we no longer recognize You. Help us listen to the Holy Spirit when He pulls us away from sin. But most of all, Lord, help us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds every day, by the washing of the water of the Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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