Wearing Strength and Dignity

Proverbs 31:¹⁷She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.

Without Jesus, no one can be a Proverbs 31 woman. However, because Jesus redeemed those gathered to God, a woman who has accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior is a Proverbs 31 woman. What does a Proverbs 31 woman wear? Strength and dignity. Most people think that a Christian woman is expected to be weak and submissive, unable to lift her voice. Solomon disproves this ill description of Christian woman by saying quite the contrary. A woman of God is strong and dignified and she isn't afraid of what the future holds.

I struggle with claiming my redemptive revelation as a Proverbs 31 woman. I know in my head that because of Jesus I am able to walk in this new image, but due to my low self-esteem, I am often calling myself weak. I notice that I often beat myself up with words like: ugly, stupid, weak, failure, fat, and idiot and sadly, I enjoy calling myself those things deep down inside. I desire to clothe myself in strength and dignity, but how am I able to do that when every time I look at myself, I see a disappointment? I need to look for Jesus within myself. He is there. I accepted Him into my heart and now He dwells within me. I need to see past my exterior and look for Jesus. Also, I need to clothe myself with Jesus on the outside as well. I need to be filled on the inside and coated on the outside for full protection. I need to take better care of my appearance so I can reflect the change inside of me on the outside. Finally, I need to stop comparing myself to other women. God has given me the garments of strength and dignity, and now it is up to me to put it on daily.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the work You are doing in me. Lord, You have been challenging me lately to really dig deep and bring my honesty to You. God, You are so faithful to take these things from me. I know that there are forces that would want me to stop pressing into You. Things of this world that are trying to intimidate me and make me complacent, but God, I love You and choose to be diligent in pursuing You. Thank You for revealing my tendency to put on my old self full of weakness and shame. Lord, I repent and ask that You help me daily to put on Jesus' strength and dignity. Please help me to see myself through Your eyes. I love You, Lord. Thank You for loving and choosing me. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.