The Best Dressed List
Hurting from the pain of losing someone? Here is a study to help with your soul cravings.
When I was ten years old, a major musical motion picture about an orphan girl named Annie came out. That movie lit up my life and the lives of all my girlfriends. We sang the songs from Annie over and over again. We even created our own Annie play at my school. It’s the cutest movie ever. If you haven’t seen Annie, you’ve got to rent it.
In the movie, there’s a song titled “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” that reminds us that no matter what we’re “wearing on Main Street or Seville Row. It’s what you wear from ear to ear and not from head to toe that matters.”
A smile is a sign of favor. It’s a visible expression that you walk in God’s goodness and that His delight envelops you morning, noon, and night. Your smile is the pleasant expression that you share with the world around you. It shows your happiness.
Proverbs 15:13 reminds us:
“A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day” (The Message).
You may remember going to camp and singing this song:
“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!
Where? Down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart!
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart to stay.
And I’m so happy, so very happy.
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.”
Doesn’t that song make you beam? A beam is a ray or shaft of light. Your smile radiates light. The joy that you carry deep inside your heart sparks the same hope despite opposition that the orphans faced in Annie. They were parentless, living in a shelter, and wearing tattered, old dresses. All they had was one another and the shared friendship of a smile. Yet they sang, laughed, and danced knowing that they had what matters most: love.
We will not have smiles on our faces 24/7 because tears do come. Yet, it’s the joy that comes in the morning that we have to look forward to (see Luke 6:17). As Christians we are called to be a people filled with expectation at the victory of our God.
How do we sustain that joy? Through keeping His commandments and loving others.
I like what Jesus said,
“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love. I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father” (John 15:10-12, The Message).
I want to be the kind of person that others ask, “Why are you smiling?” Don’t you?
While the fashion magazines share their best dressed lists, you and I know the truth. The best dressed person is the one with a smile! (Seriously, what does a new tunic top and four-inch stilettos really have to do with true beauty? Nothing!)
Questions: What are some of the special ways God’s love has made you smile? How do we sustain that joy?
About the Author Jacqueline Overpeck
Tags: best dressed, cheerful, fashion magazines, Jacqueline Overpeck, joy, orphan, Seville Row, shelter, Smile
6 Responses to “The Best Dressed List”
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This is wonderful! It hit home for me in different ways. When I was younger I was obsessed with my appearance to the point of making myself quite ill for many years and had plastic surgery. One of His many blessings in my life is that now I don’t think about it much at all. I cannot tell you how free it has made me feel in so many ways. Once I adopted a manner of modesty and no longer gave thought to how others saw me it was like being set free from my self microscope. I was so self conscious that I could never see anyone around me but always worried about how I appeared and allowed bad things because I didn’t measure up. Society places such high value on the physical but it is all smoke and mirrors. I always think that God has warned us of this downfall when He said to be in the world but not of the world. Now the peace He has given me is wonderful and the people that love me do so simply because of who I am.
When I am out and about I make a conscious effort to always have a smile on my face. People often return the smile and I feel like I can see things for the first time because I am not wrapped up in how others see me physically. Since I have adapted a more modest dress I know that those smiles I receive back are genuine kindness. God bless and thanks so much!
YAY!! I love this devotional today! It’s SO true too! God DOES give us GREAT joy when we walk in His Presence and trust in HIS love!! May Jesus give us ALL a GREAT smile from HIS heart today!:)))))))
Gods love makes me smile when i thik about it…when i feel the sunshine on my face – when i read HIs promises- He is a promise keeper you know….ive just been through major challenges lately and just knowing that nothing can seperate me from His Love makes me feel His love even mo. I love you Lord
I’ve recently been through an awful trial (severe illness), and still have problems from it. Though I kept my relationship with God throughout, I found it difficult to smile. Now I can smile again, and yes I would love a stranger to ask the reason for my smile! I would say it’s because I have Jesus in my heart. (now I’ll have Annie’s song “You’re never fully dressed–” on my brain)
I spent a long time worrying about every detail of my looks. As I’ve gotten older and my relationship with God has deepened, I’ve learned exactly what this devotional says. God gets great joy from our happiness in him!
It would be fun to keep a journal of every time we smile and why… I may do that after reading this. I smile a lot, but I can’t always remember the deep feeling of joy it brought to me “at that very moment”; I will do this beginning today! Thanks for the thought. Ps… I loved the musical Annie too!