Wonderfully Made! (Psalm 139)

When we were living in warmer climates (like California and the Bahamas), and visited Ohio in the winter, we often made a Walmart pitstop to pick up a cheap jacket or gloves to help us temporarily weather the weather. This worked fine on our brief visits, but when we made the move to live in Ohio, we needed an altogether different strategy. The first winter we had was unusually cold and snowy, and some friends encouraged us to ditch the cheap stuff from Walmart and invest in well-made winter gear designed for the weather here. The weather is no big deal when you have well-made gear. In Psalm 139, we are told that God custom-made us, and He did a good job when He did. 

David writes, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139: 13-14 ESV) God is intimately aware of each person, and in your unique and special way, you were a wonderful part of His creation. David expresses gratitude to God for His handiwork and this promise is a good one to remember. Each of us, regardless of our race, gender, age, wealth (or poverty), has been made wonderfully according to His perfect plan and provision. He goes on to get even more personal: “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139: 15-17)

This wonderful passage speaks to God's presence in all aspects of life and that He was intentional in the way each of us was designed. As I like to say, we were designed “on purpose and for a purpose.” He chose to create us in His own likeness, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:27 ESV) This verse shows us not only how valuable we are to the Lord, but it reminds us how valuable every person ought to be to us. Why? Not just because of what they can do or provide for our society, but because they themselves are “image bearers” of the living God. They are valuable because they were designed to be. 

Let’s celebrate together today that the Lord knows us perfectly (down to the number of hairs on our heads) and He has a perfect plan for each of us.

Expectantly,

Shawn

P.S. Please join me in praying for the family and friends of Bill Schuck, who are mourning his unexpected passing last weekend (obituary).