Psalm 139 “Wonderfully Made”
God created us good, and God knows us intimately. This is a very important thing for us to know! If this psalm is written on our hearts, it will come back to us at many times through life. For the young child, there is comfort in the knowledge that even in a game of hide-and-seek, God knows where they are. In any new thing they do, God is already there. As the child reaches school age and starts to notice the differences between people, knowing that God created their uniqueness is invaluable. During puberty, the phrase, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” is a sustaining mantra. In those turbulent adolescent years of thinking no one “gets me,” this psalm is a reminder that God does, indeed, get it. This passage has long been Daniel’s favorite, and has sustained him through hard times. It changes our relationship with God, but it also changes the way we look at other people. Each person on this earth, even those who are “making bad choices,” are created by God, created good, and known by God. Think of how that knowledge changes the way we interact with the world! Powerful stuff.
Read It
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O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you. - Psalm 139:1-18 |
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Memorize It
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” - Psalm 139:14a
Do It
Ages 0-3 “God made it all!”
Our son invented this game when he was three, and we love it! Before your child is verbal, you can say these words for them, but once they are older, you’ll find them doing it themselves. This very simple exercise sets the foundation for a few very important things in a child’s self-image and sexuality - This body belongs to me, and God made it.
Here it is: Point to the child’s tummy and say, “This is (child’s name)’s tummy!” Repeat with various parts. After going through several, open the child’s arms wide and say, “And God made all of it!” Once they’re older, they can lead through it - pointing and saying, “This is my tummy!”
Ages 4 and up “Body Art”
Print out a coloring page (this is a good collection of them) of the human body. This could be a full skeleton, or one that shows the intricacies of one part (I love the ear one!). Look at its complexity together, and talk about God forming it as you color together. Write the memory verse on it and hang it up.
Variation: If 3D art works well in your family, use various media (pipe cleaners, playdough…) to make a model of one of these intricate parts of the body.
Our son invented this game when he was three, and we love it! Before your child is verbal, you can say these words for them, but once they are older, you’ll find them doing it themselves. This very simple exercise sets the foundation for a few very important things in a child’s self-image and sexuality - This body belongs to me, and God made it.
Here it is: Point to the child’s tummy and say, “This is (child’s name)’s tummy!” Repeat with various parts. After going through several, open the child’s arms wide and say, “And God made all of it!” Once they’re older, they can lead through it - pointing and saying, “This is my tummy!”
Ages 4 and up “Body Art”
Print out a coloring page (this is a good collection of them) of the human body. This could be a full skeleton, or one that shows the intricacies of one part (I love the ear one!). Look at its complexity together, and talk about God forming it as you color together. Write the memory verse on it and hang it up.
Variation: If 3D art works well in your family, use various media (pipe cleaners, playdough…) to make a model of one of these intricate parts of the body.
Pray It
God, you know everything about me. You created me, and you have been with me since I was being formed in a woman’s body. You will always be with me. I can’t hide from you, because you know everything about me. Thank you, God. Amen.
Explore It
The God Seed, by Esther Elizabeth, is a book that was given to our family when our children were born. We love it! It emphasizes the themes of this Psalm, and it also gives language that is a helpful alternative to the “Jesus in my heart language.” We have learned that for the young, literal child, the idea of Jesus fitting in one’s heart makes Jesus awfully small. This book offers a way to help the child understand the intimacy and vastness of God.
