June 14, 2022
The Almost Daily will be on Summer Vacation until August 8th. But fear not! You will receive a devotional each Monday through Friday from the excellent Mockingbird Devotional entitled Daily Grace. Enjoy! - Paul Walker
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)
Chief among my real-world concerns as a kid was how I dressed. I’d heard adults say, “Dress to impress,” and I took that to heart. Consider the long-treasured clothing itinerary I dreamt up at age 9 for a 1985 trip to Disneyland:
Monday: Jams and red tank top
Tuesday: Izod with shorts
Wednesday: Shorts and Spuds MacKenzie shirt
Thursday: Jams and polo (Vans)
Not unlike Tamatoa—the glam-rock coconut crab in Moana who sings “I’d rather be shiny!”—I have often found myself on a futile search for acceptance, affirmation, and influence, even through something as seemingly trivial as clothing.
In true “What Not to Wear” fashion (pun intended), and through the use of His Law, God shows us that when we seek to “clothe ourselves” in this way, we exacerbate our spiritual nakedness. The burden of clothing ourselves is the fashion emergency that has our Father stooping low to give us His Son, who was stripped naked so that we might, at long last, be covered.
With fruit juice still on their lips, our oldest ancestors hid their nakedness with clothing that cost animals their lives. Out with the old and in with the new: God’s garments are intended to “show off” His glory and resurrection. The Divine Dresser helps fashion-disasters like you and me wear “the garments of salvation.” Trust and believe this: Hope, humility, a sense of humor, and gratitude are always in style. And no matter what you see in the mirror, God sees you as the perfect model to wear His designs. You are an integral part of the beauty that “brings forth its shoots” and “will cause righteousness and praise to spring up” (v. 11).
You’re a model. You know what I mean. You do your little turn on the catwalk!
[Matt Magill, Daily Grace - Mockingbird Devotional Vol. 2]
