February 1st, 2019

”I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalms 139:14
 
This Psalm written by David is so special because it brings us a confidence which we lack sometimes–we second guess ourselves about our self worth. The Psalmist brings out that we are God’s very special people.
 
Let us visualize David sitting on a hillside watching his father’s sheep and having nothing to do but think. His thoughts are turning toward God. He is aware that God knows so much about him. We know Jesus says in Matthew 10:30-31, “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” We need not fear, He even knows the number of hairs on our heads.
 
David is reminiscing about when he was fearfully and wonderfully made, God cared for him enough to “knit him” together in a marvelous and awe-inspiring way. This led him to realize and believe that God cared so much that HE would always be there for him.
 
Psalms 13:7-10 says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” God would be there for him wherever he was, and God’s love for him gave him value and purpose. There are people who believe that we are a complex collection of chemical interactions; some even think that God does not exist.
 
David, as he watched the sheep, is feeling the breeze blow over his body, looks at his hands and feet, he can feel his heart beat and watches how his chest rises and falls with each breath. He knows it is not an accident, but designed by God himself.
 
We are created by God for something more than selfishness and seeking pleasure. We are made to do great things.
In Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,” it says we are God’s workmanship and are created to do good works.
 
David was thinking positively about himself. He had confidence and courage not based on his personal abilities and potential, but upon God’s power and grace.
 
David was a man who faced giants and led his men against the enemies of Israel. His confidence was based entirely on the realization that he was created in the image of God and was special to Him.
 
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me” Psalms 139:1-5. David knew God valued him and gave him a purpose.
 
This Psalms 139 was a love song for David. He was declaring his undying love for God. He expresses his adoration of God. He twice asked God to examine his heart to make sure it was clean and acceptable. Nothing in David’s life mattered to him nearly as much as God. He was in love with God. The Bible tells us that David was “a man after God’s own heart.”
 
This is where we want to get in our relationship with God. It’s when we truly realize how much God cares for us that our lives take on new meaning and purpose.
 
This is good news to us who know and love God because no matter what we do or where we go we can never be far from God. Paul says in Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
 
I encourage you today to be yourself, be who God has designed and created you to be, and stop searching for approval from others. God has created you exceptionally and uniquely for a reason and when you do that you will experience God’s overwhelming peace and joy.
 
Have a blast–God knows you and loves you like no one else can.
 
God Bless.
 
In Christ’s steps,
Pastor Shaker

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