DESIGNED BY GOD 1

Most of us probably do not look in the mirror in the morning and say,

“Lord, You did an amazing job here.” However, He did do an amazing job. He made you! God’s

involvement with you did not begin at your birth, but at the moment when you were conceived.

On the basis of God’s very personal involvement, the Psalmist stated in Psalm 139, “I will praise

thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (verse 14).

The theme of Psalm 139 is praise to God. In it, the Psalmist David expressed a number of reasons to praise the Lord, beginning with the fact that God is omniscient—He is all-knowing. “Thou hast searched me, and known me,” the writer stated. He went on to give specifics: God is aware when we get up and when we lie down. He knows the path we will take before we choose it. God is all-knowing, but we are not, and David acknowledged that. He declared in verse 6, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” In verse 7, David indicated that God is not only omniscient, but He is omnipresent - everywhere at the same time, all the time. He asked the question: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” pointing out in subsequent verses that there is no escaping God. On land, on the sea, in the air, in life or in death,

wherever one could possibly be or go, God is already there. That too gave the Psalmist cause for glorifying his Creator.

Something David found to be another reason for praise is God’s intimate knowledge and care for him, saying, “Thou has possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:13-14). The word covered in the phrase “thou hast covered me in my

mother’s womb” could be translated woven, which suggests that we were knit together by God.

Knitting takes skill and attention; it is an intricate process. That gives us an idea of the careful interest

and time God invested in making us. He not only watched over our development, but He was our Designer and Creator! God noticed your beginning, and He was aware as you began to grow.

 

The Psalmist went on, “My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (verses15-16). Think of the fashioning and the forming that took place

while you were still in your mother’s womb. During that period of early growth, David says, “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect.” You were not fully developed, but before you had fingers and toes, God was there, and He fashioned them as He developed you. I believe the Psalmist gave all these details to indicate just how much God is invested in each one of us.

 

Years ago I did some book work for employers who had an employee pension plan. In order for an

employee to become “vested” in the plan, he had to be an employee of the company for a certain

number of years. In his first year of employment, funds were set aside for his retirement. However, if

the employee left the company during that first year, those funds would be distributed to other members of the plan. The same applied over the next three years as well. At the end of year five, the employee became fifty percent vested, and then gained an additional ten percent per year for the next five years. Finally, at the end of ten years, the employee was one hundred percent vested. If he quit after those ten years, he received the full amount of the retirement funds set aside for him. In contrast, vesting is immediate with God. He has been one hundred percent vested in you since you were conceived in your mother’s womb. Think of the excitement in the mind of God when your mother was expecting you. He is excited about you! God formed Adam from the dust of the earth. He made

Eve from the rib of Adam. He fashioned you in the womb of your mother. And in each case I like to think He was thrilled and excited about what He was doing.

 

We can identify with the excitement about a coming baby. Some months ago, my wife and I learned

that our son and daughter-in-law were expecting their fourth child. When they were expecting their third, we went to Medford to visit them and observed that their second child, our granddaughter Margeaux, had a shirt on that said “Big Sister.” Debbie saw that shirt and knew right away that number three was coming. I didn’t notice the shirt; I just noticed my granddaughter. So when we headed down for another visit this past September, I told Debbie, “The first thing I am going to do is find Moses (their youngest) and see what shirt he is wearing.” Sure enough, when we went into the house and found Moses, his shirt said “Big Brother.” We were so excited! In verse 16, David alluded to God’s detailed interest in us, pointing out that the intricate details of who we would become were all “in thy book.” It is almost like God had a sketch of us. We were no surprise to Him when we were born. Some babies are cuter than others at birth. Some rate higher on the evaluations done on new borns. But from God’s perspective, every baby is perfect! God was happy with you as you were being formed. The way He made you was not an accident or a mistake—He had it all sketched out in His foreknowledge. We can only put it in human terms, but He invested a great deal of time designing you and what you would become... to be continued