The Hidden Person of the Heart

1 Pet. 3:4

but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 

1 Pet. 3:1-7 is a classic passage for husbands and wives. Wives be subject to your own husbands,and husbands live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. In and of themselves these are great principles as well as commands to be obeyed. But v. 4 talks about something that is much deeper, perhaps it is the how-to for women.

The whole concept of wives submitting to husbands is not really an easy sell. Who wants to be the one that has to follow the will of the other one? Who doesn't want to have things their own way? I certainly do. Yet, God says no. He has placed authority in a certain order. So how do we follow this order? God says look at your heart. Do not just be concerned about your external adorning, clothing, hair, jewelry. Not to say those things aren't important. [Just look at the huge industries centered around each of these three areas.] If our concentration is not on the external, it has time to be on the internal.  Peter says our adorning should be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. A hidden person in our hearts? Who knew?

This hidden person is our relationship with God, our inner life where we think, meditate, pray, read, study, memorize, form attitudes, and the list goes on. It is where our true character is formed and then becomes the source of our external actions. If our external includes griping, nit-picking, mean-spirited actions, laziness, lack of focus, etc., then we know that our internal is not right. We are not growing that gentle and quiet spirit that God thinks is precious. We are not honoring God in what He really desires. Notice that the hidden person of the heart is not synonymous with church attendance. It can grow at church, but it can't be replaced by church. It must be that one-on-one time that we have with God. 

This hidden person of the heart has a huge influence. It says that an unsaved husband can be won by the conduct of the wife without even her saying a word, that is if her hidden person of the heart has been fed and grown. If not, there are wedges and wall built. Stress and tensions run high, and the home becomes a battleground not a haven. Such wisdom! But can women give up their desire to run the show? Can they trust God to keep them safe and protected? The holy women of old were our examples. Sarah trusted Abraham even after he pawned her off as His sister twice. In spite of Abe's actions, God protected her. Verses 6 says, And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. It might be frightening to trust our husbands, to go with their ideas and plans even when you know the end will not be good, but is God bigger than all that? Yes. Do His plans supersede all the foolish plans of man? Yes. 

Father,

Help me trust You above all. Help me to be more concerned with my inner hidden person that running the show on the outside. Give me Your strength to trust You above all.

In His name,

Amen