She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful…

There was a country song a few years ago that was recorded by Sammy Kershaw which summed up the title of this article.

It’s a simple statement in the eyes of man, but its relevance far exceeds the natural human beauty it depicts. 

There is such a thing as inner beauty which has an attraction unlike anything physical or carnal. 

My grandma used to say, “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.”

How true that saying is, for I have seen beautiful people whose ugly attitudes far exceeded their outward appeal.

The Psalmist penned these words in ch. 149:4, “For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.”

“If we love Christ above everything, we must love humility above everything, for humility is the very essence of His life and glory, and the salvation He brings.”

(Andrew Murray)

When Jesus comes into our hearts and becomes the ruler of our lives, He changes us from the inside out.  We may not have attractive features which appeal to the carnal natures of human beings, but the inner glow from the indwelling of Holy Spirit radiates an outward attraction that far surpasses natural beauty. 

The Psalmist also stated in 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

A familiar story is told of how different physical attraction is from inner beauty in the contrast between Saul, the first king of Israel and David, who God chose to be his replacement after Saul was rejected by God. 

In 1 Samuel 16, we read, 1 “And the Lord said unto Samuel, ‘How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.

3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.

4 And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.

7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

The story continued as each one of Jesse’s sons came before Samuel, but none were acceptable. Finally, Samuel asked Jesse was that all his sons. He said, no, the youngest, David, was tending the sheep. Samuel said to bring him to him. And sure enough, when Samuel saw David, the Lord spoke to Samuel, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.”

As a song Ray Boltz recorded many years ago states, “When others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king…”

David didn’t know he was going to be a king. He was a young shepherd boy who tended his father’s sheep, but he had a key ingredient which his other brothers didn’t possess—as was penned in Psalm 63:8, “My soul followeth hard after thee:” He loved God, and desired to follow Him. 

David didn’t know he was beautiful to God, but the anointing God placed upon him as he began to serve God demonstrated how humility and meekness were key factors to God’s interpretation of beauty. 

David’s son, Solomon, who was deemed the wisest man to ever live, penned these words in Proverbs 31:30, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

The inner spirit of an individual speaks volumes of the beauty one possesses. 

1 Peter 3:3-4 states, “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.”

We can do everything in our power to be beautiful…we can have Botox, plastic surgery, use all kinds of man made potions and concoctions, in our attempt to not age, or maintain an attractive aura about us. These things may suffice for a season, but eventually they lose their wherewithal. 

So many times through the years there’s been a statement shared with me that superseded any attempts I’ve ever made to be attractive or appealing.

“There’s just something about you, I don’t know what, that seems to draw people to you; an aura that emanates from your person that attracts.”

I never rightly knew how to respond to that statement, except to say, “It must be the Lord. He beautifies the meek with salvation.”

So, as Solomon said in Proverbs 4: 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

As we seek to know God through Christ, the Living Word, by the power of Holy Spirit, we won’t know we’re beautiful, which can be a good thing…pride can then be kept at bay.

Jesus Himself admonishes us in Matthew 5:14 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

BE BEAUTIFUL, AND DON’T KNOW IT!

D. S. Mullis

copyright . Feb. 18, 2024