On Life, p.2 // Psalm 139:13-16
Yesterday I shared a verse from Jeremiah 1:5. Today I want to explore a part of Psalm 139 which has meant a lot to me in my ministry. Early on, a mentor impressed upon me the beauty of being fearfully and wonderfully made. I took that into my doctorate studies and focused on Psalm 139 as a way to help understand life. Let’s read a section of this Psalm together…
“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.” (Psalm 139:13-16, MSG)
This verse makes it clear that God planned our lives before its start to finish. I love how The Message Version states that God declares us alive from conception to birth with all the days and stages thereafter. Each and every one of us is precious to God. Life is precious to God! We don’t always get it right, but thank the Lord for grace and mercy.
Psalm 139:23-24 goes on to say, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (NIV). I think it’s a beautiful thing that the Psalm includes everything from how we are fearfully and wonderfully made to the anxious and offensive ways within. God sees it all and knows it all. Does that disqualify or discredit us? NO, not one bit; regardless of what we’ve done or where we are. All we need to do is to acknowledge our sin, believe Jesus is God’s Son, and confess our need for Him as Savior.
God is sculpting every one of us from nothing to something. Let’s embrace the beauty and mystery of life, even when it’s scary and uncertain. After all, the word cannot be the same without you in it.
