Body ImageSýnishorn

How Do I Keep Looking Younger?

I’ve found a secret to looking younger. It’s not about another cream, procedure, or exercise program. It’s not expensive, either. In fact, it’s both free and freeing. And this kind of youth treatment will never lead you to prideful thoughts about your appearance. The enemy might try to attack your heart with prideful thoughts like, If I look good, I’ll be good, and I won’t need anything. But those lies won’t stick. It took me a while to find this secret, but you can start looking younger today—right after you finish reading this, even.

I used to fixate on my appearance, but the more I did, the more I failed to see needs of others—and the more I disliked what I saw in the mirror. We can become so busy making our outsides better—removing this love handle, erasing that blemish—that we don’t even see a suffering brother or sister right next to us. This is how the destroyer sneaks into our lives and prevents us from achieving the dreams God has for us.

We get trapped into believing that if we just keep looking younger, better, or fitter, we’ll be more likeable, acceptable, valuable, powerful, or important. Our enemy wants us to focus on outward self-improvements rather than God-reliance. In fact, our enemy wants us to focus on anything except for what God focuses on. Does God really care about your wrinkles, your dimpled-thighs, or your gray hair? God’s not even looking there. He cares about your heart.

Okay, so back to me figuring out how to keep looking younger. It turns out, I was looking in the wrong place. When I placed my focus where God wanted me to, I found the secret. The secret to looking younger is to actually be younger, like a child. Jesus didn’t mince words when He told us if we wanted to have a part in the kingdom of heaven, we had to come to Him with the heart of a child. Have you ever seen a little girl at a swimming pool? She’s not concerned about cellulite. She just wants to enjoy her day.

Instead of looking into a mirror to evaluate yourself, look into the Word of God. Let God transform your heart to become like a child’s so you can enter more fully into the freedom of God’s kingdom. Then, His reflection can shine through you, changing you. He will make you and me more radiant, more beautiful, and keep us looking younger from the inside out. It doesn’t matter what you weigh or how many wrinkles you have. It’s God’s radiance shining through your eyes that makes you beautiful. that He loves you, and He’ll change what you see in the mirror to what He sees.

—Sheri