Pressure Point Week 4: Wednesday

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it. Psalm 139:14

Imagine you spend months working on a stunning painting. You have thoughtfully and laboriously painted each stroke until you finally completed your work of art. Then you bring a close friend to see your work of art. You are so excited to show that friend your masterpiece to which you have dedicated months of your life. Your friend surprises you with a lackluster response to your artwork and tells you that they would have used different colors and that they prefer other pieces of artwork better. You would be rightfully upset and heartbroken, wouldn't you? The fact that anyone would speak negatively about something you created and put hard work into would hurt. We put a lot of care and thought into the things we create. On a much grander scale, God puts care into His creation as well. The pinnacle of His creation was human beings. Every person is God’s masterpiece, perfectly and intricately created, and should be treated as so.

David, the writer of many Psalms, knew that God values human beings as His prized, beloved creation. He wrote about the way God thought about Him in Psalm 139. He wrote, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb" (verse 13). Notice the care and detail described in how God created him. Knitting is a slow, deliberate, careful process. He continued, "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it” (verse 14). Because of the detail and care that went into David’s creation, he wrote, “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!” (verse 17). David understood how much God loved him and viewed him as his prized creation. Knowing this must have certainly impacted how he thought about himself and how he treated others. 

This understanding in Psalm 139 was not just true about David. It is true about all people. God created each one of us carefully and intricately. Each one of us is "wonderfully complex." God's thoughts about every person on the planet are precious and "cannot be numbered." When we know and understand this truth, we see people differently. We see everyone we come in contact with as God's beloved and prized creations, and we treat them as such. We can show everyone just how special and valuable they are. Let's show everyone around us God's love today.

Moving toward action

As you go throughout your day today, remember that each person you encounter is loved by God and matters greatly to Him. Treat them as God's beloved works of art. Ask God to help you as you seek to do this and give you the same love He has for them.

Going Deeper

Psalm 139:1-24