Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
Psalm 139:13-18


We live in a world that so often tells us that who we are is because of what we do, what we say or how we look. But, look at these words from the book of Psalm... what I read here is the exact opposite.

God formed us. He created our inmost being. God purposefully created us JUST THE WAY WE ARE. He loves us JUST THE WAY WE ARE. In fact, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made". It doesn't matter what we look like or what we do. Regardless of any of those things, we are wonderful in God's eyes.

God knew before He created us exactly what we would do and how we would look. He knew every single one of our days. And, yet, He still loves us.... JUST THE WAY WE ARE.

How about the next time we find ourselves finding fault with how we look or other similar things, that instead we remember that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made"? How about we remember that we are the person God created us to be? How about we remember that God loves us and it is only His desires to which we should attempt to aspire?

Wherever We Go

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Psalm 139:7-12

Have you ever felt alone? Afraid? Hopeless? If so, reassurance can be found in this passage to the promise from God that we are never alone. God is never far, but always right alongside us each and every day.

That doesn't mean we will always feel close to God. However, when we feel like God isn't there, it's not because God has left our side. He doesn't turn away... it is us that turn away. It is us that makes it feel as if God is far away. It is our decision to no longer seek God, put something else in a place of greater importance, or just determine that God cannot or will not help us.

Regardless of any of that, God stays with us. He never leaves and he never gives up. No matter where we go or how far we may run... He is always with us. Even when we purposely run away from Him, He is still there. He patiently waits for us to turn to Him and allow Him to comfort us, to bring us peace, to shine His light in our life and make it whole.

He is ALWAYS with us WHEREVER WE GO.

He Knows Me

"O Lord, You have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.

You hem me in -- behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain."


As I read over these scriptures from Psalm I'm sitting in my very quiet house... no noise except for the sound of the rain outside my window. It's just me this afternoon... the kids are at school, Jeff is out working. I'm home for the day trying to give myself a little TLC as I think my sweet Josh shared a not so sweet virus with me over the weekend. :)

While I read these words from David I am particularly touched (along with a bit in awe) of the fact that God knows me so very well. Even as I sit in the quiet of my bedroom with no one else physically in this room with me, HE IS WITH ME. He is right here beside me, he knows the words I will type, the thoughts I will share. He knows my heart, my intent, my desires.

In some ways, it is a bit scarry. After all, I don't even know what I will do 15 minutes from now. And, the thought that I might know is a bit.. oh, I don't know... a bit like something from The Twilight Zone.

Oh, but let me very quickly say, God is not a part of The Twilight Zone... His ways are so far from anything like that. And, while many of this world may feel that the "concept" of God is a bit "Twilight Zone-ish"... we that call Him our Father know Him to be the exact opposite. We know a Heavenly Father that knows us so well that He knew -- before we were even created -- what we would look like, the things we would do, and who we would choose as friends. He knew the many good things that we would do and He knew the many bad things we would do. And, regardless of what He knew, He did not hesitate to give us life and He does not hesitate to love us exactly the way that we are. He does not hesitate to call us His own.

As I try to soak this in and understand the enormity of it all, I feel a bit like David must have felt as he wrote the words in verse 6 -- "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain".