Have you ever struggled with feelings of worthlessness? Sometimes I think we forget that we’ve been created by a perfect God, loved by Him, and made for a purpose…not that we don’t know it in our minds, but we don’t live like it’s true. While reading a devotion out of Everyday Holy by Melanie Shankle, I came across this passage based on Psalm 139.13-14 that completely changed the way I look at myself, and I thought you might find it helpful as well:
“When you look at the original Hebrew, fearfully means “with great reverence and heartfelt interest,” and the word wonderfully means “unique and set apart.” It makes me realize how much love, thought, and concern went into our unique design as God carefully created each of us. We are His masterpieces, walking around with flesh and blood.
And if we let that really sink in, we can comprehend maybe just a little bit how much He loves and cares for us. None of us is here by random chance. We were knit together with great reverence and deep emotion by our Creator- every fiber of our being. He could have made anything, but He chose to make you– with all your quirks and freckles and personality.”
Melanie Shankle, Everyday Holy (Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, pages 154-155)
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139.13-14 ESV
Many people these days say that animals, plants, and even bugs are equally as valuable as humankind, or that your worth as a person has nothing to do with God. However, we can see a different story in the Bible. In Genesis 2, we read that God formed man from the dust of the ground and “breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” Genesis 2.7. There is no other creature God breathed His breath into, just as humans are the only creation made in God’s image.
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
Genesis 1.
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When you look in the mirror, would you consider yourself a “masterpiece”? God does. Ephesians 2.10 NLT says: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” To fully absorb what this verse is telling us, let’s look at the Greek word for masterpiece, aristourgima. It means “the most outstanding work of a creative artist or craftsman” and “an outstanding achievement.” Think of how grabbing ahold of this truth could change the way you live; how you might make different decisions. Think of how differently you might treat the people around you.
“We are a divine work of art.”
CS Lewis
“If Rembrandt’s artistic masterpieces have great, undisputed value, would not God’s one-of-a-kind human masterpieces convey even greater value?”
D Robertson
Our worth as a race is inherent, based on the fact we were created by a holy God. It’s no wonder that as more and more people lose sight of that truth, we see more crime, more hopelessness, more suicide. Look back at the quote at the top…how does it make you feel to think that God created you with “great reverence and heartfelt interest”? Does it make you see yourself a little differently?
