When I see brilliant white clouds in an azure blue sky, when I hear bird songs and feel warmth in the air, my soul deeply resonates with the psalmist’s words: “Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well” (Ps. 139:14 NASB). I revel in “His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20). I want to dance and sing; I can’t contain the praise and awe that I feel.
But the psalmist considers more than nature outside – something that I often gloss over. He says, “I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Seldom do I consider myself one of His wonderful works; certainly not with giddy, awestruck, I-just-want-to-hug-it-all thankfulness that comes when looking at other parts of His creation.
It is more than the marvel of skin that is both impermeable and porous, of muscle that can flex and stretch, of a brain that not only operates the whole system, but is self- and other-aware. The psalmist is talking about an appreciation for the whole of my essence, my full being – body, mind and spirit – as a product of God’s wonderful workmanship.
More often than not I see the shortcomings of my flesh, regret the fallen nature of my mind and forget that the risen Christ is restoring in me the glory of original design. All that God has created me to be and who he is shaping me to become are worthy of awe and appreciation. Too often I let disdain push me to the sidelines when considering his amazing craftsmanship.
How can I love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:39) if I don’t have an appropriate awe and wonder for God’s created attributes in me? How can my soul be healed, grow and bloom if I withdraw myself from the Master Workman’s hands?
Praise the Lord! For I am (and you are) fearfully and wonderfully made, created in His image and perfected in His Son. He is the Author of Life (Acts 3:15), the author and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2). Who am I (who are you) to disrespect His handiwork???
Psalm 139:13-14 (NASB) 13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
Acts 3:15 (NIV) You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.
Hebrews 12:2 (NASB) 2 … fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.