Parents understand that moment of marvel when we see our child for the first time – whether through birth or adoption. There is nothing like that moment. We understand the idea of things being wonderfully made because we’ve held them in our arms and looked them in the face. The wonder which fills us when we look in the face of our child is the same thing God feels when he looks at each of us.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

God took great thought and care into putting the human body together. It is an amazing combination of intricately intertwined systems. Our eyes can distinguish up to 1 million color surfaces and take in more information than the largest telescope known to man. Our lungs have a surface area the size of a tennis court. Just three months into pregnancy, an unborn child already has fingerprints, which will never change throughout his life. In one day, the human heart pumps blood that travels a total of 12,000 miles. Your body cells are regenerating themselves every single day, which means you have an entirely new set of taste buds every 10 days, new nails every 6 to 10 months and new bones every 10 years. God formed us as he wants us to be. There are choices we make in our lives that alter that design, but our basic formation was created and blessed by God.

Do you know it full well?

While this verse describes our unique and remarkable bodies and gives an indication of our value from God’s perspective, this Psalm is more about God than about us. We were made by a God whose acts inspire fear and wonder and should draw us into worship of the creator. We may not understand anything else about God, but we know his works are wonderful.

Keep reading in Psalm 139. Verse 15 says you were woven together (NIV), intricately wrought (KJV) which translates as “embroidered.” If you’ve ever embroidered anything, you know it takes time, focus and attention to detail. God embroidered you. But he did more than just design and form you – verse 16 says he planned your days. He planned tasks for you to perform (Read Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13). He plans the very best for you (Read Romans 12:2). God feels so strongly about you that he intricately plans your life.

Do you know it full well?

If we don’t base our decisions and identity on the truth of how God feels about us, we let others dictate how we feel about ourselves and may make decisions outside of his plan. Warren Wiersbe says, “Wrong ideas about God will ultimately lead to wrong ideas about who we are and what we should do, and this leads to a wrong life on the wrong path toward the wrong destiny.” The right knowledge of God’s opinion of us is the key to understanding our gifts, passions, abilities and seeing our experiences in the light of God’s plan.

Read Psalm 139:14 several times over the next week. Read it, whisper it, say it out loud to yourself and to your children. Each time you do, emphasize this phrase: I know that full well.

Today write your own psalm. It doesn’t have to rhyme or have a meter or cadence to it. Just write a message to God. Worship him for how he created you.