Wonderful Craftsmanship
Ps 139:14
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;*
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
NKJV
Craftsmanship is very important. No one wants to buy an item that has been made cheaply or shoddily. That is (theoretically) why we pay more for designer brands, because they offer the promise of greater quality.
I am a female. As such, I have spent a good portion of my life comparing myself to others. I look at people and note when they are thinner, prettier, have better hair or a nicer manicure. (I am sure men feel the same when it comes to physical strength or prowess, or someone with nicer technology or machinery.) I usually am able to avoid outright envy, but I typically come away from those comparisons feeling badly about myself. That is probably why the Word of God tells us that comparing ourselves to each other is really not a good idea! It is a double-edged sword that results in us either feeling badly about ourselves or prideful if we come out on top of the other person with whom we are comparing. Both are sinful- and neither is productive.
A good portion of people struggle with low self-concept and identity issues. A lot of deep emotional pain comes from feeling “less than” someone else. Sometimes that is the message that people around us send to us. We gather this information when we are not invited to go shopping with the “in” folks at work, when we are not included in the conversational grouping at the church picnic… the location is really not important. What matters is that we are often deciding how we feel about ourselves by the way that others receive or reject us. This sets us up for extreme highs and lows- euphoria when we receive affirmation, and dejection when others rebuff us.
This passage of Scripture reminds us about the real truth about ourselves. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” by a loving Creator God who takes great pleasure in us, His creation. Does it matter that we look different than someone else, or sing with a different tonal quality? All diversity is in His hand and He chooses, on purpose, to create each of us differently. With different strengths and different weaknesses, we are an original masterpiece. No one else can do what He has created us to do. No one else can be who He made us to be. We have worth, value and an incredible destiny! Why waste time trying to measure up to someone else? You are beautiful to Him! You are who He desires!
His works are marvelous. This passage says so. You are His work, and therefore you, dear friend, are quite marvelous!
If our soul- our mind, our will and our emotions- can know this truth, it can redefine how we see ourselves. We can begin to rest in our God-given identity and value. We will not need to try to earn respect or perfect our physical attributes. We can relax in the knowledge that His opinion is truly the only one that matters. He says we are loved and valuable. What else matters?
Dear Lord, help me to see myself through your eyes- neither debasing or exalting myself. Help me to accept my worth based on Your value system and Your purposes. Please break the yoke of bondage over those suffering with low self-concept or self-hatred. Grant them the grace to accept Your truth and reject all other voices. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Amen to that, Sherri. We are truly wonderfully made, all of us. No matter our position or our image, we are His. I think that once we realize that truth, we will see ourselves differently.
Sweet Sheri, your blog was just for me, I have always had a problem with low self esteem. your last paragraph made me cry. I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God, Blessings Glorai