“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Psalm 139:14

About a year ago I had this revelation. I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and saw a t-shirt. It was the daughter of someone that I follow and her shirt said, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” That stuck with me so much, because it means so much. The caption was something sweet about his daughter and helping her know she was made in the image of God. Cut to a few days later when I went to the Orange conference (a Next gen ministry conference), and they started talking about how vital the role of pastors and small group leaders play in the lives of the next generation. They said they do this by helping the next generation see that they are made in the image of God. Not a coincidence. Over and over since then God has been placing this on my heart, and if you’ve read my blog consistently, you know that I really like to push this fact. The reason I push it is because living into that title shifts your perspective. It allows you to move from thinking that you were some accident by science, but that you were created, fearfully and wonderfully, with a higher purpose for your life.

I wish I had learned this sooner. You see, in my past, my story, I have experienced a lot of hurt. While not physical, I have been hurt by the power of negative words. I was bullied in high school, which is never fun, I was just a kid who likes geeky things (like warm tea, comic books, and b-movies *winky face*). But it’s a real thing (wait you can’t start a sentence with but, just did!). Words hurt. Words can create a narrative of your life that isn’t true. Words can tear someone’s spirit down, create myths about you, and make you want to give up. Words hurt. I experienced this a lot, and even now I still face this. Thankfully it’s not a frequent thing, but it happens, it happens to all of us. The thing I loved so much about that shirt, was that the father is instilling in his daughter at an early age that she was created by God, and made in his image. I think we all need to be reminded of this. I need to be reminded of this. In a season where we remember what we are thankful for, I’m so thankful that we have all been created in the image of God. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, because God’s works are so much more powerful than we can even imagine. I’ve been wanting to share this for a while, because I think you need to hear it. I think you might be feeling pretty tired of the negative words that have been spoken over you, I know I sure have. So today, I want to share with you how important you are to God. I want you to understand the weight of what being created truly means, because you are fearfully and wonderfully created.

You are awesome.

I like to pray this over people, and I’ll often get some weird looks. I promise I’m not trying to be a skater kid, I’m using the word awesome for what it really means. We use it so much in everyday language that we forget what it means. The word awesome is to be awe inspiring, one that inspires great admiration. God is awesome, you can simply look at the world around us and know this to be true. I mean we have things like a super moon that only happens a few times (and it’s so crazy!). We live in a world with mountain ranges, intricate cities designed by creators, and a universe that expands so far. That is our creator, and he says that we have been created in his own image. Which means, if our God is awesome, we have the capability to be awesome too. You have the ability to inspire people around you, to make a positive change in a world filled with people who are filled with hatred. That’s why I pray it over people, because we have the ability to inspire because God is the greatest one who inspires.

You are beautiful.

This is something we don’t hear enough of. Often we hear the antithesis of this word; we are told that we aren’t skinny enough, that we don’t have the right clothes, and that we like things that are too weird. What a tragedy. We have gotten caught up in consumerism and trying to be perfect, that we have forgotten what beautiful really means. To be beautiful is to have a very high standard, or to be excellent. It is pleasing to both the mind and aesthetically. It doesn’t really say anything about how to look/dress/or act. We are created by God, which means we have the ability to be excellent. We can please the mind by the thoughts we have and the deep conversations. We can please the mind aesthetically by our actions towards our brothers and sister all around us. God loves us, and we can love his children too. We need to live into the knowledge that we are beautiful, because God is beautiful, and he made us in his image. You are beautiful.

Our world is filled with sin. I think we all can see that. Anger against leaders, hatred against people who don’t look like us, and a questioning if anything will change. I believe we can change. I don’t believe it will come from any politician, I don’t believe it will come from violence, and I don’t believe it will come from any of our actions. I believe it will come from a trust in our creator and living into the fact that we are fearfully and wonderfully created. When we believe we are made in the image of God, accepting that we are awesome and beautiful, we have the capacity to change the world. We no longer become slaves to anger, hatred, and fear. We becomes children of God, acting in love, pursuing the hearts of all people in all nations of all color, and we hold on hope of the one who made it all. This past week was baptism in my church’s service. Baptism is a picture of us accepting to trust and follow Christ, and letting our old ways pass away. Does it mean we are perfect? Nope, but it does mean that we are pursuing Christ with all we are. It means that we become intentional with every area of our life. That intentionality sets us apart and opens the door for the Holy Spirit to work in all areas of our lives. So step into that, don’t believe the lies that people speak over you, and don’t speak lies over the people who you have been hurt by. Break the chains and live differently, because you are made differently. You have been fearfully and wonderfully created.

You have been made in the image of God, so live into the power that comes with that fact.

-Joshua Thomas