Thursday March 14
We Are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!
Psalm 139:13-18
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.
America is facing a major crisis today as we deal with several generations of young people who have been taught that they evolved from animals, and human life is no different than animal life. Because we have devalued life, they are growing up with little or no purpose for living. As a result, we are experiencing the highest suicide rates ever, violence, anarchy, disrespect, looting, stealing, lying, drug and alcohol abuse, and many more destructive behaviors.
Paul described it this way in Romans 1:28-32, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”
This is exactly what happens when we believe the lies of the Evil One and deny the existence of the Holy God Who created us in His image. Psalm 139 is one of the greatest passages in literature about the miracle of human conception and birth. There are several things we have already learned from this great chapter!
In verses 1-6, we saw where God is omniscience and that He knows us intimately and we can never deceive Him. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He takes notice of every word we speak and searches us out in our innermost being. In verses 7-12, David reminds us that God is omnipresent and that He is with us constantly and there is no place we can hide from Him!
Now in verses 13-18, David declares that God is present at conception and birth, and because we are made in the image of God and God has a special purpose for each person who is born. We live in and with our bodies all our lives, and we know how amazing they are. God formed us as He wants us to be, and we must accept His will no matter how we feel about our genetic structure, our looks, or our abilities. The verb "covered" in verse 13, means "woven together" (see Isa. 32:12), and "skillfully wrought" in verse 15 is translated "embroidered" in Exodus. In the mother's womb, the Lord weaves and embroiders a human being, and abortion interrupts this miracle. What a tragedy!
But the Lord did more than design and form our bodies; He also planned and determined our days (v. 16). This probably includes the length of life (Job 14:5) and the tasks He wants us to perform (Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:12-13). This is not some form of fatalism or heartless predestination, for what we are and what He plans for us come from God's loving heart (Psalm 33:11) and are the very best He has for us (Rom. 12:2). If we live foolishly, we might die before the time God has ordained, but God's faithful children are immortal until their work is done. How can we ignore God when He has given us such a marvelous body and planned for us a wonderful life? Life is not a prison, it is an exciting pilgrimage, and the Lord has prepared us for what He prepared for us.
Our responsibility is to yield ourselves to Him daily, ponder His thoughts found in His Word (Psalm 92:5; Isa. 55:8-9), and walk in the Spirit. God thinks of us! (Jeremiah 29:11). Should we not think about Him?
God bless!