What is Beautiful to God? (Part 3 of “Becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman)

There’s a gaping hole in my sixth grade class picture. That’s because I hated my looks so much that I cut my photo out. In those days, I was a little overweight and had coke-bottle thick glasses. Nowadays, as I age, I occasionally find myself hiding “selfies” from my Facebook timeline or deleting a photo that mysteriously adds twenty pounds to my figure.

Am I the only one who does this?

But thankfully, the Proverbs 31 woman is not about external beauty.

Beauty is fleeting….

God cares more about our internal beauty than how we look on the outside or how we carry ourselves.

So what is beautiful to God? Is it perfectly groomed hair and flawless makeup?

We find the answer in Proverbs 31:30: “but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” The word “fear” in the Hebrew also means “worship” or “praise.” So in essence this passage could also read “but a woman who praises the LORD will be praised by the LORD.”

God praises you when you praise him!

Worship.

Praise.

That is what God wants from you. That is what makes you beautiful to him.

He doesn’t look at the mole or the limp or the aging skin. It’s your heart he cares about. He wants to hear your words of adoration for his attributes, attributes we find through his many names.

El Shaddai- He is the Lord God Almighty

Elohim- He has Strength and Power

Jehovah Jireh-The Lord is your Provider.

Adonai- He is our Master.

Jehovah-Rapha- He is our Healer.

Jehovah-Raah- God is our Shepherd.

Jehovah Shalom- He is our Peace.

Today, tell God he is your Almighty God. Thank him for being your strength and power. Praise him for his provision and shepherding. Acknowledge the healing he has done in your life and thank him for turning your anxiety into peace.

Recognizing God in this way is a beautiful love language to him. That’s how we can become a Proverbs 31 woman. She was a woman who praised and appreciated God and that is attainable for all of us.

So now we know the Proverbs 31 woman was not necessarily a looker. It has never been about that for the Lord. She is beautiful to God because of her heart toward him and because of a healthy fear of her Father in Heaven. She recognizes that without His presence in her life, she is nothing. She acknowledges her dependence on God. And because of this she receives God’s favor and praise from all those who know her character.

Today, will you offer words of praise to your Abba Father?

He is waiting to admire your beauty.