POST 4: What It Means to Be Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
POST 4
What It Means to Be Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
When you look in the mirror or scroll through the photos on your phone, what do you see?
When you think about your personality, what do you feel?
Being a teenager can often feel awkward and uncomfortable. During these years, we begin to discover who we are, what we like, what we don’t like, and who we want to be as we enter adulthood.
It may not surprise you that a lot of teenagers don’t really like the way they were made. They feel that something must be missing—that they’re lacking in some way. They feel confused about who they really are and may even try to change themselves to fit a certain image. Or maybe who they are is a mystery to them. One teenager told us, “I didn’t really know who I was. And I didn’t really care either. And I was like, ‘Wait, why isn’t this working out?’”
Here’s the thing: just because you don’t feel like you were made very well doesn’t make it true. Your feelings don’t determine truth. God does.
What Does God Say about Me?
Psalm 139 is a beautiful reminder of how God sees us. Think of it as a window into God’s thoughts and feelings for you.
Psalm 139 is really a Hebrew poem that tells us God is all-present, all-knowing, and all-powerful. In other words, God is everywhere and can do anything, and yet, God still looks at each one of us individually as a unique creation. God looks at you with care and love—and desires to have a relationship with you. Take a moment to think about that. The God of the universe who can do anything and be anywhere and knows everything also knows you and wants to be with you.
Psalm 139 takes us on a journey. First, we are introduced to the remarkable fact that God knows us and is paying attention to the intimate details of our lives—when we stand up and when we lie down. God is familiar with all our ways. Every word we speak has already been known. In verse 7, the psalmist describes how God is ever present. There is never a moment in which we are alone. God is always with us.
In verses 13–18, we see God’s creative intentionality with us, forming us in our mother’s womb. God created every detail with purpose.
Verse 14 says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (NIV). Perhaps you’ve heard this before. Fearfully and wonderfully. What does that even mean?
The original Hebrew word for fearfully means “with great reverence, heartfelt interest, and with respect.” That’s how God made you—with great admiration and awe. God is deeply interested in you and appreciates who you are.
Toward the end of the psalm, we are assured that God is a God of justice who comes through for creation. And finally, the psalmist worships God. Now that the psalmist knows who God is and what God has done, they know who they are and how to respond: with awe and wonder.
God made you with intentionality and purpose. God marvels at you because you are God’s own creation. And God thinks you’re pretty wonderful.
Sometimes reading the same verse in multiple translations helps us see that verse from different perspectives and adds to our understanding. As you read through the various translations of verse 14 in the following section, how does your understanding of the truth found in it grow?
I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt. (CEV)
I give thanks to you that I was marvelously set apart.
Your works are wonderful—I know that very well. (CEB)
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. (NLT)
REFLECT AND RESPOND
Journaling Questions
How do you view yourself? How does it differ from the way God views you? How is it similar?
What did you learn from Psalm 139 that you didn’t know before?
What does being “fearfully and wonderfully made” mean to you?
God, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Whenever I start to forget this truth, remind me that I am yours and you made me with intention and purpose. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SOMETHING TO TRY
Write your own psalm to God, giving praise for the unique ways you were created. Be as detailed as possible. It doesn’t have to be long or poetic; what’s most important is that it captures what you’re feeling and thinking about yourself and the God who made you.
THE TAKEAWAY
God is wonderful—and made you wonderful.