Wonderfully Made

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit or stand. When far away you know my every thought. you chart the path ahead of me, and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment, you know where I am. You know what I am going to say before I even say it. You both precede and follow me, and place your hand of blessing on my head.

This is too glorious, too wonderful to believe! I can never be lost to your Spirit! I can never get away from my God! If I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. If I ride the morning winds to the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, your strength will support me. If I try to hide in the darkness, the night becomes light around me. For even darkness cannot hide from God; to you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body, and knit them together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous - and how well I know it.

Psalm 139:1-14 (TLB)

Natalie Bernard, from North Carolina, has challenges with learning and social interaction. It may take her hours to complete a twenty-minute project. She doesn't always comprehend what she is reading right away, and she struggles with communicating in social settings. Natalie has lived in fear and anxiety, afraid that her difficulties would be discovered, making her vulnerable to embarrassment and other's laughter.

In today's scripture the psalmist honors and exalts God for the way God made him, calling God's works "marvelous." Following this example, Natalie praises God for the way she is made. Her difficulties lead her to seek God with her whole heart, and in seeking God, she has developed a deep relationship with her Creator.

God's kingdom is diverse, and we are all members of the body of Christ. Our limitations do not stop God from working in and through us.

So let's celebrate and rejoice in the way we are made because, as Ephesians 2:10 tells us, "We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (NIV). No matter what challenges we face, we do not have to be ashamed. We can joyfully be who God created us to be.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for your love. Thank you for working in and through us no matter our challenges or abilities, in Jesus' name. Amen.