Beautiful in God's Eyes , livre ebook

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise noted, all verses are taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1984 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. Used by permission.
Verses marked KJV are taken from the New Scofield Reference Bible, authorized King James Version. Copyright 1967 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Used by permission.
Versed marked NASB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Verses marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Italicized text in Scripture quotations indicates author s emphasis.
Cover by Koechel Peterson Associates, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cover Image Yulia She / Shutterstock
BEAUTIFUL IN GOD S EYES
Copyright 1998 by Elizabeth George
Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-7049-5 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-7050-1 (eBook)
The Library of Congress has cataloged the earlier printing as follows:
George, Elizabeth, 1944-
Beautiful in God s eyes / Elizabeth George.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-56507-782-9 (pbk.)
1. Women-Religious life. 2. Bible. O.T. Proverbs XXXI,
10-31-Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.
BV4527.G458 1998/2005
248.8 43-dc21
97-41991
CIP
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Acknowledgment
As always, thank you to my dear husband, Jim George, M.Div., Th.M., for your able assistance, guidance, suggestions, and loving encouragement on this project.
Dedication
In loving memory of
Lois George Onesti
Godly mother to my husband, Jim,
gracious mother-in-law to me,
loving grandmother to our daughters,
Katherine and Courtney.
Because of her faithful obedience,
we have known God s ideal-
a woman beautiful in His eyes.

We rise up and bless her!
Proverbs 31:28
Contents
Acknowledgment
Dedication
An Invitation to Beauty
1. A Rare Treasure- Her Character
Proverbs 31:10
2. A Sparkling Jewel- Her Value
Proverbs 31:10
3. A Solid Rock- Her Loyalty
Proverbs 31:11
4. An Unfailing Prize- Her Contribution
Proverbs 31:11
5. A Spring of Goodness- Her Mission
Proverbs 31:12
6. A Fountain of Joy- Her Heart
Proverbs 31:13
7. An Enterprising Spirit- Her Provision
Proverbs 31:14
8. A Pattern for the Household- Her Discipline
Proverbs 31:15
9. A Field of Dreams- Her Vision
Proverbs 31:16
10. An Eager Attitude- Her Work
Proverbs 31:17
11. A Taste of Success- Her Confidence
Proverbs 31:18
12. A Little Night Work- Her Diligence
Proverbs 31:19
13. A Helping Hand- Her Mercy
Proverbs 31:20
14. A Double Blessing- Her Preparation
Proverbs 31:21
15. A Tapestry of Beauty- Her Handiwork
Proverbs 31:22
16. A Man of Influence- Her Husband
Proverbs 31:23
17. A Creative Professional- Her Industry
Proverbs 31:24
18. A Wardrobe of Virtues- Her Clothing
Proverbs 31:25
19. A Law of Kindness- Her Words
Proverbs 31:26
20. A Watchful Eye- Her Management
Proverbs 31:27
21. A Cup of Blessing- Her Family
Proverbs 31:28
22. A Crowning Chorus- Her Praise
Proverbs 31:28-29
23. A Spirit of Reverence- Her Faith
Proverbs 31:30
24. The Harvest of a Lifetime- Her Reward
Proverbs 31:31
Notes
Bibliography
About the Author
Beautiful in God s Eyes Growth and Study Guide
Books by Elizabeth George
About the Publisher
An Invitation to Beauty
I have a real love for the book of Proverbs in the Bible because that s where I first met the Proverbs 31 woman (Proverbs 31:10-31). She s the incredible woman who models for all women-young or seasoned, married or single-all that is beautiful in God s eyes.
Since first discovering the treasure of the Proverbs 31 woman, I ve tried to model my life after her. I have sought and prayed to duplicate her actions and attitudes in developing strength of character and pursuing the responsibilities, opportunities, and goals God gives me. And I ve tried to follow after her wisdom in creating a home-sweet-home, nurturing my marriage, and raising my children.
And you ll fall in love with her too! In this remarkable woman you will find instruction, encouragement, a model to follow, and the motivation to keep you looking to God for a lifetime. And most important of all, you ll find out about true beauty-God s kind of beauty!
I m glad you re joining me in scaling the heights of this godly beauty. God s excellent woman is someone we can follow without hesitation. And, my friend, you will never be the same after moving verse by verse through Proverbs 31:10-31! You ll grow personally and spiritually as you discover what God considers beautiful-and then apply it to your life. To help you, I ve included practical How-To s of Beauty in each chapter. And, for even greater progress (for you or your study group), I recommend the book Beautiful in God s Eyes Growth and Study Guide.
As you know, you and I cannot be who God wants us to be on our own power, so each chapter ends with An Invitation to Beauty reflective section. This look in the mirror gives you an opportunity to gaze into God s eyes, search your heart, and seek God s beautiful will for your life.
My heartfelt prayer as we begin, dear friend, is that you will
let God use this teaching about His kind of beauty to transform your heart and your life.
share this picture of beauty from the Bible with your friends, daughters, and anyone else who is interested in God s brand of beauty.
truly desire to become like the woman of Proverbs 31-a woman who is beautiful in God s eyes.
May it be said of you, Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all (Proverbs 31:29)!
In God s beautiful love,
1
A Rare Treasure
HER CHARACTER

Who can find a virtuous woman?
PROVERBS 31:10 ( KJV )
H ave you ever felt overwhelmed by a larger-than-life challenge you suddenly found yourself facing? Well, I experienced such a moment as our tour bus drove into the hotel parking lot at the base of the massive natural fortress called Masada. Jutting straight up from the shore of the Dead Sea, these fortifications built by Herod the Great towered some 1300 feet above us. It was already casting its dark and foreboding shadow over our group as the guide told us to get a good night s rest to prepare ourselves for the 7:00 A.M . climb up this ancient wonder the next day.
I felt as if I were standing at the base of Mount Everest! What am I doing here? I wondered. How did this happen? I m just a wife who came to the Holy Land with her husband to study the Bible ! I never bargained for this ! But now I was expected to climb up this steep mountain with the rest of the much younger group!
And, my new friend, I want to quickly admit that I have all these same feelings again as you and I stand at the beginning of this book about being beautiful in God s eyes, looking up at her -the beautiful (and successful and wonderful and perfect) woman of Proverbs 31. She certainly appears to be larger than life. She s up there, so far away, so far removed, so beautiful, so superior, so impossible. Or so it seems .
But wait! Let me finish my story about Masada. I dutifully ate a healthy dinner and went to bed early, just as the guide had instructed. But I also worried all night long-Should I eat or not eat before such a strenuous climb? Should I wear jeans or hiking shorts? How much water should I carry? On and on my thoughts and fears churned. I definitely didn t get the prescribed good night s sleep!
Finally it was 6:30 in the morning-time to act. I threw on my clothes (shorts because of the brutal heat), grabbed the largest water bottle (I skipped breakfast), opened the door of our room, walked to the footpath-and I climbed Masada!
I didn t want to, but I did it. It wasn t easy, and I stopped for many rests-many, many rests! My lungs hurt, and my legs hurt. People passed me by as I struggled. But I made it! By tapping into the deepest resources of both my mental and physical strength and by continuing to put one foot in front of the other-by taking one step after one step after one step-I finally arrived at the top of the world! (I only discovered later that the top of the world was sea level!) I had done what had seemed impossible-and that accomplishment was glorious!
Now, dear fellow climber, you and I face the rather daunting Proverbs 31 woman. Perhaps just as I struggled with a lack of desire to climb a mountain, you ve struggled to even want to be like her. Maybe you ve tossed and turned as you ve counted the cost of such an endeavor, sensing that it will require much from you. And possibly you ve suffered as other women have passed you by in their efforts to become more like her.
Whatever you re feeling, whatever your past experiences with the challenge of Proverbs 31, I invite you to come along with me now. Let s hold hands if we need to as, accepting God s invitation to become beautiful in His eyes, we climb together. Along the way we re going to tap into the grace of God s power and the Spirit-driven resolve to become all God wants us to be-and we re