One of these lessons is based on Psalm 139, which is written by David. The main idea of this lesson comes from the first half of verses 14 which says "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made". I have gotten the chance to really get my hands dirty with this concept, and it plays a major role in my testimony over the last few months.
The first thing we should look at is what is going on here in Psalm 139. David has an intimate relationship with God. It is on display here. The God who has created him. We also see how much God loves us and cares about us in this passage.
Let's break this down a little bit though. What does David mean when he says that he is Fearfully and wonderfully made? To get a better idea of what he is talking about, we need to discuss what we mean when we say that we fear God. To say that we fear God is not to say that we are afraid of Him, but rather, we look on in awe, with great respect.
What does all mean to us? The beginning of the christian narrative is creation. The bible begins with "In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the Earth". Everything that he created was how HE wanted it. In this Psalm, we see that we are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made in the image of GOD.
Many of us have things that we do not like about ourselves, things that are beyond our control. A couple of months ago I shared my story about growing up with autism. At the end of the last semester I dealt with significant events that lead to me believing a lot of lies about myself. However, God has a plan for each component of us. In March I went on a missions trip with about 20 other people from LBC, to Houston. There I met someone who I have since grown very close to. During this week however I was under the impression that she strongly disliked me and thought I was annoying. However, on the plane ride home she passed me a note. I had gotten the opportunity to talk to her on this trip, and I had impacted her. The moral of this story is What you see as a weakness or an unpleasant attribute could change someone else's life.
We might often be told by other people that we aren't good enough, or that we are weird. Growing up I was constantly being bullied. A friend of mine went through a similar struggle. The problem is that growing up, it is easy to start to believe what others are telling us. Even as adults, people might tell us things like we just aren't good enough or we should be different than who we are. The truth is though, that We are created in GOD'S image... not MAN'S.
So we talked about the fact that God created us, but what about the why? Why did God create us? To first get an understanding of this, it might be worth while to look at Luke 15, where Jesus shares the parable of the lost sheep. We often hear about how He leaves the ninety-nine for us. In other words, he pursues us. Why does he pursue us? Because he loves us. Just how much does God love us? According to John 3:16, God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God loves us so much that he sent his son, to die for the sin of man, so that man may have salvation.
God created us so that he can have relationship with us. We know this because he didn't want Heaven without us. He sent his son to die for us, to carry the wrath that we so much deserve. As such, our identity doesn't come from anything that is worldly. Our identity comes from Him.
The three main takeaways from all of this is
- God created you in HIS image.
- God created you to have a relationship with you.
- Our identity comes from HIM. Not anything on Earth.
For those of you who might be struggling with your identity, I hope this provided some encouragement for you. Remember, because of all of this, Each and every one of us has a place in the Kingdom of God.
Note: All references to scripture come from the English Standard Version (ESV) translation
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