My grace is covering you completely. You are clothed in my glory. Everything that concerns you my daughter is covered with my goodness. Favor, favor, favor; you walk in great favor and honor. Queen Esther walked in my favor, because I clothed her in my glory. She stood out among the other virgins, because I clothed her. I was her radiance and I am yours. You are filled with grace, and honor will be bestowed on you. Walk with strength and dignity my daughter.




Proverbs 31:25-31
Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure; she rejoices over the future. She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness she will not eat. Her children rise up and call her blessed and her husband boasts of and praises her. Many daughters have done virtuously, nobly and well with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness, but you excel them all. Charm and grace are deceptive and beauty is vain, because it is not lasting, but the woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the LORD, she shall be praised! Giver her of the fruit of her own works, praise her in the gates of the city!

My heart is grieved for your daughters my Father. They struggle to fit into what society says is beautiful. They clothe themselves to allure; to find the affirming words their souls desire. They are taking it beyond their clothing as they are still not satisfied with how they look; they are permanently changing their bodies and faces with surgery. They are saying to God, “I do not like the way you created and fashioned me, so I am going to make it better.” Where are these girls’ identities after all of this surgery? I know, they are broken and pieced together, having altered not just their physical bodies but their souls as well. They are modeling themselves after a perfect look that is hollow and empty. The enemy of our souls, the devil is behind this façade. He is lying not only to our young but to the mothers and grandmothers as well. He is saying the perfect face and the perfect body will bring you happiness and fulfillment. To be young and beautiful is the answer to your yearnings, to your emptiness. He is the Enemy of you soul! He is not speaking truth to you. He is the father of all lies. There will always be someone who is more beautiful, younger, and more energetic. Your yearnings for fulfillment will never be satisfied with how you look or how you dress. Only in Christ can you be truly satisfied and fulfilled.

Father God desires to clothe you permanently with his beauty. Let’s take a look at the above scripture and we will see the beautiful plan our Father has for his daughters. He wants to clothe you in strength and dignity; to give you vitality and power. To walk with poise and distinction is to walk with self confidence and peculiarity. You see, God has made you distinct; you were not made with a cookie cutter. You are you. I struggled for years with the size of my nose, thinking it was just too large. In the 90’s I began to accept who I was and how God fashioned me for his pleasure. He loved my nose. I truly began to thank the Lord for my ethnic heritage and embraced it completely.

Father God gives us hope for our future. We should not be preoccupied with the way we look. This is vanity. I can look to my future and rejoice, because I know it will be fulfilling and rewarding. The enemy would like to preoccupy us with many things. He is out to destroy our destinies. He will do this in many ways, but in this discussion I have only focused on the obsession with beauty and a quest for youthfulness.

Jesus says to you, “Your beauty dwells in me.”
Jesus says to you, “Your glory dwells in me.”

Isaiah 61:10
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

He has clothed us with garments of deliverance, and has brought us into covenant relationship with Jesus. He has brought morality to us, and equipped us to do good works. He has clothed us with virtue, justice, and honesty. He sees us as priests and as the very Bride of Christ adorned with beautiful jewels. We need this perspective of ourselves. We would walk a little differently I suspect if we saw ourselves as He sees us. This is walking in the knowledge of who we really are. Wow! Can you see yourself clothed in regal attire as beautiful as Queen Esther? You are the apple of God’s eye.

Godly Wisdom comes forth out of our mouths; because we are spending time in the presence of the King. We are leaning in and tuning our ears to hear what he says. He imparts wisdom through Holy Spirit to us his daughters. We then walk in the wisdom of the Lord. We are motivated to do good. This is moving away from an inward, self serving mindset to being filled with the goodness of God. This is the true beauty that comes from within and radiates strength.

You are not idle in your home life. You are busy keeping your house in order. Another way the enemy waylays us, is by laziness and disorder in our homes. It is hard to focus and be efficient when we live in chaos. Strengthen yourself in the Lord and get busy! He will give you the strength and plan to get your house in order.

Our children, the ones we bore naturally, and the ones we have labored for in the faith, will take notice of our lives. They will take the initiative and call us blessed. There is an amazing beauty in godliness. It comes forth like pure gold. People will be attracted to the glory that resides in you. The scientific community may scorn this notion but I am certain that the Glory of God keeps us looking good. To be youthful, peaceful and fulfilled is the fruit of His presence abiding in you. In the past few years we have experienced the fruit of our children rising up and calling us blessed. It is an amazing feeling to be honored by your children.

Our husbands have full confidence in us. They are in no doubt of our character. How are they certain we are strong, godly, beautiful women? They have witnessed our ins and outs, and the fruit of our lives speak volumes. They are more in love with us than when we first took our vows, because godly character breeds more love and passion. I am not in any way giving license to “let your physical self go.” We are responsible before God and our spouses to keep our temple in good order. I desire to be as beautiful for my husband as possible. I want him to look my way and be pleased I am his. The more I spend time with the lover of my soul the more my lover notices. I reflect God’s glory in many ways. Some of those ways are intimate and just for my husband. Probably King Xerxes was not taken by Esther’s godliness; it was her outward beauty that attracted his attention. Even so God directs the paths of kings and rulers. There is definitely a perfect balance here. You are the only one who can determine that for yourself.

I want to close with this last portion of scripture.

Proverbs 31:30
Charm and grace is deceptive, and beauty is vain, because it is not lasting, but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

Charisma and attractiveness can be deceptive in women as in men, but typically women use these traits more. The enemy has loosed a seducing spirit into the world in a much greater degree since the advent of the internet and in advertising. We are bombarded with seductive commercials and billboards. This is dangerous to many who do not guard their eyes and their hearts. Women are being pressured to look like models, and men are being snared through the lust of their flesh. It is all a trap of the enemy, the devil. He wants to steal, kill, and destroy you and your God given destinies. It is all a façade; it is not what it appears to be. Guard your hearts for it is the wellspring of life.

Proverbs 8:13
To fear the LORD is to hate evil

Women of God, I invoke you to walk in godly fear. To walk in such a holy reverence in all you do. Let’s be aware of how we dress, and how we carry ourselves. Let’s be cautious in the way we speak. We should always have a word mixed with wisdom and prudence. Be beautiful in your appearance and amazingly godly in your actions and speech. I am not presuming to tell you how you should appropriate this; this is between you and Holy Spirit. Blessings and glory to God

We are called to act locally as part of the Body of Christ, but we are to think globally! I am asking the LORD for an expanded vision and heart for the world. Why? It is the Father’s heart that all come to repentance and share in the inheritance bought and paid for by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.

This is God’s beautiful plan for his church worldwide.

Isaiah 58:6-7
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter, when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

God hates injustice! He brings judgment upon those who oppress the poor, the widow the orphan.

Matthew 18:6
But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

We are to advocate for the least of these. We are being shaken out of our complacent mindsets and world views. It is Holy Spirit doing this shaking. Wake up church! Wake up! It is time to call sin and injustice what it is - evil! God our Father will not stand for this attitude in his church. His people who are called by his Name should have his heart!

We are to take up the causes of the poor and needy, to provide for the widows and those who are without parents; this would include those who have an orphaned spirit. This comes through the neglect of their biological parents. When we quiet ourselves before God Almighty he begins sharing his heart for the world. We have the option of turning a deaf ear to these calls or acting.

Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

The Lord requires this of us. It is not an option for God’s people. We are required to be just in our actions towards all people. We are required to be merciful towards all people. We are to walk in humility towards all people. Clothe yourselves in the humility that comes from walking in intimate fellowship with Christ. We are to bear one another’s burdens. Let’s open our eyes to the world’s plight. It is not going to get any better and we the church will be required to do something to lessen the burden of others.

Holy Spirit is shaking us out of our selfishness. My house, my possessions, my car, mine, mine, mine! Stop it! You probably have an abundance of things that could bless someone else. There should be a definitive distinction between the world and God’s people. We should be carriers of the light, the promise of a better life with Christ.

Isaiah 1:10-11
Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! The multitude of your sacrifices- what are they to me? Says the Lord, I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

God is saying in this passage above, that he is tired of our sacrifices. You come with your tithe and offering but you are overlooking your neighbor who is addicted. You offer praise and worship to Him, but you haven’t spent yourselves on behalf of the poor man who is unemployed struggling to make ends meet for his family. Tithing, offerings, praise and worship are all good but don’t forsake the other things as well. Jesus spoke of this to the Pharisees in the book of Luke.

Luke 11:39-42
Then the Lord said to him, Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor and everything will be clean for you. Woe to you Pharisees because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue, and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

It is recorded in the Old Testament and the New Testament; a common theme, God defends the least of these, and we should be doing the same!

God our Father loves his children so very much. He is love and His very character exudes love. He knows that by expressing love we will be perfected more in love. When we withhold and become selfish we become more inward and self serving. His desires are for us to become more and more like Jesus. Let’s become more aware of our surroundings and begin to act on what we see. Be led of Holy Spirit in which areas you should spend your time and resources. Do not become overburdened. There is enough oppression and plight to consume us. Be wise and be led always by Holy Spirit in everything you do.