For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began. Psalm 139:13-16
My words…
Praise to the One Who Knew Me Before…
David didn’t need to know anything about cell reproduction, deoxyribonucleic acid, or immunology to understand that his body was the complex reaction of Your creative action. For generations, grateful, adoring worshipers have repeated these words to You in awe and gratitude. I am one of them. Even as my body is wearing out, it remains my most precious asset. I have no idea how it works. I understand that my lungs give me breath (somehow), and my heart pumps blood through my veins (somehow). And my liver seems to do all sorts of things I don’t understand. To be honest (what else can I be with You), I take my body for granted. I just expect it to do its job and leave me alone. I have not taken the time to give You proper praise for my anatomy. The human body is a reflection of Your order, Your intelligence, and Your imagination. No other being is powerful enough to create such a marvelous machine. But as much as Your excellence in creativity astounds and inspires me, I am even more astonished and humbled that our relationship began long before I was even an idea of a person. You knew me before my parents were born. While still unseen by my mother, You watched my cells divide and multiply. You knew the sound of my first cry before it left my lungs, and You’ve heard every single one of them since. You know the circumstances which resulted in all of my laughter and each of my tears. You know the exact moment of the exact day when I will no longer inhabit this remarkable vessel called my body. You are not just The Creator; You are my Creator. How proud I am to be Your creation. I pray You are proud of me. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.
