Worthy of Love and Beautiful

I want to be beautiful. What girl doesn't? I've always been a girlie girl.... make-up, clothes in the latest fashions, nails and toes done, highlights in hair, sweet-smelling perfume...... all things meant to "enhance" my beauty. And like any girl, I grew up in a culture that bombards girls/woment with messages of beauty... "use this product".... "be this size".... "have your hair styled this way".

And let me tell you, it's a crock! We are trained by our culture from a very early age that beauty has to do with our outward self.... how we look.

One of my favorite songs is "Beautiful" by Bethany Dillon.


I was so unique
Now I feel skin deep
I count on the make-up to cover it all
Crying myself to sleep cause I cannot keep their attention
I thought I could be strong
But it's killing me
Does someone hear my cry?
I'm dying for new life

[Chorus]
I want to be beautiful
Make you stand in awe
Look inside my heart, and be amazed
I want to hear you say Who I am is quite enough
Just want to be worthy of love
And beautiful

Sometimes I wish I was someone other than me
Fighting to make the mirror happy
Trying to find whatever is missing
Won't you help me back to glory

[Chorus]
I want to be beautiful
Make you stand in awe
Look inside my heart, and be amazed
I want to hear you say Who I am is quite enough
Just want to be worthy of love
And beautiful


Have you ever felt like that? I have. I think all of us desire to be "beautiful".... because we associate "beauty" with "love". IF the song stopped here, it would be sad. As I hear the lyrics, I hear someone crying out for love.... based on their beauty, the worth they think they have.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

What we think of as important (beauty/outward appearance) God thinks differently. It is not our beauty that causes Him to love us, He loves us because He created us. He is interested in our heart-- our soul--- our spirit. He is interested in who we are rather than how we appear. Remember....

Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. I Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

Thank you, LORD!!!! As a woman, I still want to be beautiful. But I must realize that God's idea of beauty is different than my own. He gives me directions on how to be beautiful..... the Proverbs 31 Woman. God's beautiful woman is....

• Pure- She is a woman of virtue (verse 10)



• Honest- She is trustworthy (verses 11-12)



• Industrious- She is a hardworker (verses 13-19, 21-22, 24, 27, 31)



• Thrifty- She is skilled with finances, She is able to care for her loved ones (verses 14, 16)



• Strong in character- She faces the daily challenges of life with courage (verses 25, 29)



• Kind- She is compassionate and brings words of encouragement (verses 20, 26)



• Wise- She walks in wisdom (verse 26)



• Holy- She loves the LORD with her whole heart (verse 30)

That's a tall order! It can be VERY overwhelming! But we never need to be discouraged or feel overwhelmed by God's standard for beauty because He gives us, day by day, a lifetime to reach it! Join me (won't you?) in whispering to God, pleading for strength- His strength? Because through Him we can become a BEAUTIFUL woman---- one who moves through the challenges and duties of life with courage, bravery, endurance and His power! WE CAN BE BEAUTIFUL!!!!! (We are WOMEN! We are BEAUTIFUL!)

And the song? See the conclusion Bethany Dillon comes to about beauty.....

You make me beautiful, You make me stand in awe

You step inside my heart, and I am amazed!

I love to hear You say Who I am is quite enough

You make me worthy of love and beautiful

Lord, Help me to be beautiful by YOUR standard. Help me not to become distracted by the world's idea of beauty and doubt You. Amen.