The 40-Day Mirror Fast: Focusing Your Eyes on Jesus and Off Your AppearanceSample

Encouragement to Continue Your Mirror Fast

Remember how the Israelite women melted their bronze mirrors to create a wash basin for the tabernacle? They learned to carry these bronze mirrors during their time in Egypt. Aside from keeping an eye on their looks, Egyptian women used these mirrors for another purpose: They helped them worship the sun god.

The mirrors were round to imitate the shape of the sun. As the women saw their reflected images, they believed the sun god was shining his power down on them. His power was their confidence boost.

But true confidence comes from the Son, not the sun.

Confidence comes from knowing who we are in Christ. That’s not a cliché. Connecting to Jesus can make us feel safer in our own skin. We can feel secure in the way God designed our bodies. We can better understand that reflecting His image will serve us better than perfecting our own.

As you continue your mirror fast, I hope you’ll remember that you are more than an image.

Your value and worth are settled in Jesus, no matter how your jeans fit or what your skin feels like. We can’t trust our appearance to save us from rejection or protect us from the hurts of this life. The beauty and security we long for only comes from above. As Psalm 34:5, our key verse for this study reminds us: If we look to the Lord, we will always be radiant.

Though this study has ended, you can keep going with encouragement and resources from this ministry.

Check out the other YouVersion Bible reading plans by Heather Creekmore here to help you finish your 40-day mirror fast. Or listen to the Compared to Who? Podcast or read Heather’s books on body image, comparison, and aging to encourage you to feel better in and about your body. This Mirror Fast resource page will help you with content for the rest of your 40-day journey.

Portions of this study were adapted from The 40-Day Body Image Workbook by Heather Creekmore (Bethany House, 2024)