“WHAT KIND OF STUFF ARE YOU MADE OF?”
By Rev. J. Loren Russell, BA, MDiv.
Psalms 139:13-14 (NKJV)
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.”
There is probably not a day that goes by that we are not challenged by our very existence. Maybe not every day, but I would venture to say that on any given day, we ask ourselves, “What am I here for?” The thought that our lives are purposeful is probably the greatest hope that we have. Life without purpose is meaningless, hopeless, and not worth living. So, in times of challenge and travail, we find ourselves asking, “What am I here for?”
While this is a good question, it’s really not the right question. Circumstances and situations often determine what we do. They often mask the reality of who we are because they cause us to “do” rather than “be” who and what we were created for. So the question that we should be asking is not “What am I here for?” but “Why am I here?”
David, the psalmist who penned the words in our devotional text, speaks of the omnipotence (all-power), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (simultaneous presence) of the Lord God. He speaks directly to Him and says, it was Him (the Lord) who formed him in his “inward parts.” That is to say, he was formed while he was in his mother’s womb. We can deduce that David is saying, “Because You formed me, You know me and You know what I am made of.” David says that the Lord covered him, or as the New Living Translation says, knitted him together while he was in his mother’s womb. The Lord was with him and shaped him before he was born. He knows what he has in him because He made him.
David also says that he will Praise Him, or as the Amplified Bible says, “give thanks and praise…” The most amazing thing, the most mind blowing thing that David says is that he is “fearfully and wonderfully made.” The literal translation of fearful is “to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe.” David stands in awe of his own creation. Nobody but an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Creator could have fashioned and formed such a perfect creature from the inside out. He put such good stuff on the inside that when trials and tribulations come, when you’re squeezed on every side, all they can do is stand in astonishment and awe, amazed at the marvelous stuff that comes out of you because you too were fearfully and wonderfully made.
I’m an optimist! No matter what happens to me or around me, I always believe that they all are working to make me better and that something good will come out of it. Outside situations and circumstances do not define nor dictate who I am or what I do. I have that choice, and so do you. Your life is not predicated on circumstances or situations, but on the stuff that’s in you. You and I were “fearfully and wonderfully made, and that my soul knows very well!”
Do you know what kind of stuff are you made of?
Be Blessed +++
Rev. J. Loren Russell is President/CEO of The JLR Company for Church and Financial Consulting, an associate minister at both Goodwill and Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx and hosts “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Soul 1 Radio (internet), Mondays 8:00 – 10:00 PM. http://tobtr.com/s/7436671, or by phone at 626-226-1448.
Follow Us