A friend of mine started a make up business and so I have been asking her to show me how to do my make up. We finally arranged to get together today to pick up some necessities and then come back to the house so that she could teach me some techniques. 

When we got to the house she asked me to go and grab my make up brushes… I came out with my case of brushes. Several years ago I got them on Groupon for only $19.99! For those of you that don’t know, QUALITY brushes tend to be somewhat expensive, so I thought I got these for a steal! Well… they would be, IF… they were quality! I was sucked into marketing and purchased counterfeit make up brushes. They look good to my untrained eye. I felt like a pretty legit adult woman owning this many fancy brushes. But to Courtney, one glance with her trained eye and she gracefully informed me that my brushes were horrible and then educated me why it’s important to own quality ones. 

This got me thinking… how many times do we fall for the counterfeit? How many times do we find ourselves settling in life? In a relationship? With a job or position? Looking for counterfeit joy and peace in food, shopping, drugs, alcohol, or sex!?  

So then I was thinking, how do we know if it is counterfeit??  No one goes out and starts the day looking and holding out for the fake. Well, this is what I came up with… 

If God is true peace. True joy. The real deal that meets all of our needs then we have to KNOW Him and His heart. The more we know about Him, the more the counterfeit will stand out. The more that we know His love for us and His pursuit for us, the less time we will waste on the counterfeit. It will be like Courtney with the brushes, she knew with one glance that they were fake because of the time she spends with the real. 

This week try to get to know your loving Father a little bit more! Journal. Hike. Pray. Put on some worship music. Join a small group or Bible study. Maybe it’s time to start making attending church a priority. 

I don’t know what it looks like for you to get to know Jesus. We are all wired so different. But I do know that He longs for you. He delights in you. He would love for you to get to know Him and His character better. 

Counterfeits are no fun. Life is too short to settle for the fake or even “good” version. Be patient and hold out for God’s best! It’s always worth it! He is always worth it!