The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
“Fearfully and Wonderfully… Faithfully and Wondrously”
“I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
(Psalm 139:14).
While “fearfully and wonderfully made,” our human faculties do not possess inherent ability to function in a manner that fulfills God’s spiritual and moral standards (Psalm 139:14). Thus, the Psalmist immediately follows his affirmation of our humanity with the “marvelous” works of our Lord, which our souls must know “right well.”
How well do we know this truth? In principle, we may confess the truth of God’s enabling presence and our ongoing need as a matter of cherished doctrine. In practice, however, every believer requires ongoing growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ’s service as the very Life of our lives (II Peter 3:18). Our spiritual enemies continually tempt us to forget or neglect the stark pronouncement to our Savior’s disciples that applies no less to us: “Without Me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Certainly, we play a role of faith, submission, and actively availing ourselves of the grace to live in the manner to which our Heavenly Father calls us. “Exercise thyself unto godliness” (I Timothy 4:7). We do so, however, in the blessed remembrance and joyfully affirmation so succinctly expressed by the faithful Apostle Paul:
“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (I Corinthians 15:10).
Let us apply this to our own lives and callings. Our minds, emotions, and bodies actually exist to serve as the scene of our Lord’s faithfully and wondrously revealed character, nature, and way, dwelling within us and moving through us. He made our human faculties “fearfully and wonderfully” in order that we might live in faithful and wondrous amazement regarding His empowering presence within us. All believers can look back on every act of obedience and say with complete awareness, “I would not have done that had the Spirit of God not led and enabled me as I trusted Him.”
“Christ liveth in me… I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Galatians 2:20 Philippians 4:13).
As we frequently suggest in these messages, Christ lives in us, that we may live through Him. “Fearfully and wonderfully made” just begins to express the magnitude of such grace. God never made us live as if by ourselves, either in presence or practice. We rather exist to serve as the temple wherein He dwells and acts. We thereby think, speak, act, and relate in ways and means that could not possibly occur apart from “the grace of God which was with me.” Certainly, our humanity exists as a fearful and wonderful marvel. It requires, however, a faithful and wondrous God to be what He made it to be. Such grace abides within every believer, awaiting Paul’s trust and affirmation that must become our own…
“We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
(II Corinthians 4:7)
Weekly Memory Verse
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
(II Corinthians 4:7)
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