NC Chapel Service

Psalm 139:13-16
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
The Psalmist beautifully captures the understanding that you and I were not happenstance. We have been knitted and formed by a loving and creative God. God made us, and God has a purpose for each of us. He knows the tapestry that is our lives. He is sovereign. Not one of us is here by chance.
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
I struggled with self-esteem as a teenager. I didn’t believe I was pretty or even worth much. It was a lie of the devil that I believed. The lies permeate our culture to the point that the womb is no longer a safe place. Our worth is not found in friends or position in life. Our worth comes from the Divine hand of our Creator. You are fearfully and wonderfully made! In Ephesians 2:10, Paul reminds us “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” As I live in the tapestry God has designed for me, I no longer allow the world to define me. I know that I am created by the loving hand of God and that makes me want to sing with the psalmist, songs of thanksgiving and praise. May you be encouraged to thankfully embrace the loving and faithful God who knew you before you were even created and smiled at the thought of who you would become.
Lord, I want to praise you today, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I thank you that I have the breath in my lungs to sing of your glory and love. Thank you. Help us to see life as the precious gift that you give and cherish and protect it. Help me to recognize my worth comes in you alone. Help me to help others know they are your workmanship as well. I pray in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory and praise of God. Amen.

Psalm 139:7-12
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
I liked to hide and seek with my dad as a young girl. Seeing if I could hide that he couldn’t find me was fun. While I reflected on this psalm, I was reminded that my dad had always found me. I couldn’t hide from him. David seems to want to run and hide after recognizing just how deeply he is known by God. And yet he recognizes that he cannot hide from God. God knows him too well. It doesn’t matter where he tries to run and hide; God is there.
I am comforted and challenged by the thought that God is with me wherever I go. It is comforting because I know that I can trust God to guide me and walk with me through the uncertain times of life. It is challenging because it also means that the darkness cannot hide me. I cannot hide any part of my life. As I grow in my faith, the Holy Word and Spirit reveal the things I need to confess. The Light of Christ reveals what I have tried to keep in the dark, and as I strive daily to live in the abiding presence of the Holy, I must confess and leave behind what separates me from knowing God more fully. What is God’s light revealing to you today?
Most Holy God, I come; sometimes, I want to run and hide. I am overcome with gratitude for your pursuit of me. I cannot hide from you. I will no longer try. I am thankful you are with me. Teach me you ways that I may walk in them. Light the dark places that I need to release to you. Heal my heart and help me trust that your ways are best for me. I desire to be led by the Holy Spirit, out of the darkness and into your glorious light. I pray in the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory and praise of God. Amen.
,

Psalm 139: 1-7
1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

To be known by God is a wonderful and terrifying reality. Those who do not know God find it terrifying, and those who do are comforted by this knowledge. As a young person just beginning to grasp that God desires to be in relationship with me, I found it hard to believe that God could know all about me and love me. That is part of why it terrifies those who do not know God. They do not see God as a God of love and compassion but as the One who sees their sin, and either they are not ashamed and just don’t want to be judged, or they are ashamed and do not understand how God could forgive. In these three verses, we see the very heart of God. It is easy to think about God knowing us in a general way, but this is personal. It is active; God searches and knows me. God knows me. It can be very difficult to grasp.
The wonderful part is that no one can say anything about me to turn God away from me. I am known and loved by the God of all creation, and He is compassionate and caring. He hears and answers. He knows me and loves me. In Jesus Christ, we find that God came so that we would know the depth of God’s love.
In a world of people trying to be known or fit in, isn’t it comforting to know that we don’t have to work at being known by God? In Jesus Christ, we see how much God desires us to know Him.
Does being known by God frighten or comfort you? How does this encourage you in the season of life you are in?
Lord, you search me and know me. Sometimes, I don’t know what to do with that. It is a comfort to know that I never have to face the trials of this life on my own, and you are always with me. You will not forsake. I don’t have to try to be something I am not. I can come and rest in your knowledge of me and in the knowledge of your compassion and grace. Thank you for Jesus and for showing me that you not only know but love me and desire to transform me into the likeness of Christ. Teach me today to find joy in being known by you. I pray in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory and praise of God. Amen.