WHY DOES GOD KNOW ME SO WELL?
“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.” Psalm 139:13-18
The reason God knows me so completely and thoroughly (139:1-12) is because He formed me in the womb and scheduled the course of my life (139:13-18). God “formed my inward parts” – the real me. He “covered” or wove my veins and arteries (139:13). Notice the word “me” in reference to the embryonic development of a baby. This is a person in the eyes of God, not a piece of tissue or a glob of cells. Do you realize that at the embryo stage of development, your arms, legs, eyes, ears, brain, heart, liver, and lungs were already developing? Your chromosomes were all set to make you a boy or girl. If we could read God’s plan in our DNA, we could tell even at this stage whether we would be tall or short, have light or dark skin. We could tell if we would talk and sing with a high or low voice, and many other things. God knit our body parts together according to the plan He wrote in our DNA code.
We are not the product of a series of genetic mistakes as evolution teaches. We did not evolve from dead stuff to a living being. No. We are the result of an all-wise and all-powerful Creator who carefully formed us in the womb. This is why God knows me intimately because He carefully formed me in my mother’s womb.
This is why I will praise God because I am the product of His awe-inspiring handiwork (139:14). Are you able to say with David, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well”? God’s written plan for you in your DNA is unique. There is only one you. Your face, your features, your voice, your style, your background, your peculiarities, your abilities, your smile, your walk, your handshake, your manner of expression, your view point – everything about you is found in only one individual since humankind began – you!!! You will not find another you throughout human history. Why? Because God wanted you to be you and no one else! Your mold was broken, never to be used again.
When was the last time you praised God for you? All of you? When was the last time you praised Him for your looks, abilities, mannerisms, etc? Let me encourage you to look in a mirror today and say, “Thank You, Lord, for making me, me!” Praise Him because you are a product of His awe-inspiring handiwork!
When David says, “My frame was not hidden from You” (139:15a), the word “frame” refers to his bones or skeleton. When he says, “When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth” (139:15b), he is referring to the fact that the development of a human being is hidden to the human eye. Even though he was unseen to the human eye, he was still a person (“I”). In David’s day there were no sonograms or ultrasounds like we have today. So you could not watch the development of a baby in the womb. God alone saw the development of a person in the womb. Thanks to technology today, we can observe the prenatal development of children and see that they are fully human from the moment of conception.
When David says, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed” (139:16a), he is referring to the egg cell stage of development. Life truly begins at fertilization when the sperm and ovum meet to form a single cell. All the characteristics of each person – sex, eye color, shoe size, intelligence, etc. – are determined at fertilization by the baby’s genetic code in his or her chromosomes. Every person begins as a separate single cell. Nothing new is added but oxygen and nutrition. All of us, from the moment of fertilization were a unique human being never to be repeated in all of history. When an abortion is performed, the abortionist is slapping the hand of God and destroying our Maker’s handiwork. He is destroying a person, a human being.
During the egg cell stage of development God scheduled the course of my life. “And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (139:16b). God planned all the days of our lives including all the things that would happen to us before we were even born. That is how special each of us is to God. Each of us began as an idea in the mind of God. He was thinking about us before our lives began. Since God is the One who has planned a human life, it is not our place to decide when that life should end. Only God has the right to give or take life (Deut. 32:39).
The “thoughts” God has toward us probably refer to His forming of our bodies and planning our lives (139:17-18). These thoughts God has toward each of us are “precious” and innumerable. Do you ever feel alone and insignificant? All of us can and do. Please know that God is always thinking about you. Why? Because He is your loving Creator. The best parents in the world cannot give constant attention to their children twenty-four hours per day, but God can. He is with us all the time giving us His whole attention. The Lord is constantly thinking an uninterrupted stream of loving thoughts toward us as though nobody else in the world existed.
How can God be personally involved with over 7 billion individuals at the same time? I do not know for sure, but I do believe it is no problem for the Creator of the universe. Perhaps the answer is in the speed of His thought. There are approximately 7.8 billion people in the world today.[1] God created things in nature that pulsate at incredible speeds. I learned recently that strontium atoms vibrate 430 trillion times per second.[2] If God thinks that fast, He could think of 55,128 loving thoughts toward you and every person on earth every second. Who knows how He does it. Just enjoy it!
Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling insecure? David reminds us, “When I awake, I am still with You” (139:18b). God has not only been thinking loving thoughts of you throughout the night, but when you wake up in the morning, He is still there with you giving you His loving attention. Let’s take a moment to worship our all-loving, all-wise, and all-powerful Creator.
Prayer: Precious
Lord, I bow before You as my Creator God. You know me so intimately and thoroughly
because You painstakingly formed me in my mother’s womb. I am fearfully and
wonderfully made by You and I praise You for this. Thank You for making me, me!
Thank You for my face, my eyes, my ears, my nose, my voice, my background, my peculiarities,
my abilities, my smile, my walk, my handshake, my mannerisms, my view points.
Thank You for everything about me. Thank You for planning the course of my life
with Your innumerable loving thoughts toward me. Knowing how much You love me
and care for me invites me to trust You every moment of my life. I look forward
to spending today with You. Help me to see myself as You do. In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
[1] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
[2] https://www.vox.com/2016/5/26/11784888/atomic-clock-strontium