Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” Psalms 139:14

I have heard this verse quoted many times, and I, too, have quoted it. But honestly, the word “fearfully” in this scripture always stood out to me.

Many times throughout the Bible, we are told not to fear. Like in Isaiah 41:10a, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am the Lord your God,” or 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

So if God doesn’t want us to fear, then why are we “fearfully” made?

This question propelled me to dig a little deeper into the meaning of the word in the Hebrew text — Fearfully (Yare’) means standing in awe of, reverence.

Other words in this verse are translated as:

• Praise (yadah) means to throw, cast, glorify or give thanks.
• Wonderfully (palah) means distinguished, separated, and set apart.
• Marvelous (pala) means extraordinary, beyond the bounds of human powers, wonderous.
• Works (mahaseh’) means labor, behavior, and creation.
• Very well (meod) means muchness, abundantly,

When I took the time to look at the original meaning behind these words of the scripture, it brought it to life!

In other words, we could translate this verse as “I will glorify and give thanks to You, for I am made in awe of You, distinguished and set apart by You; Extraordinary and Wonderous is your labor and creation, and that my soul knows abundantly.”

Amazing, right!?
God made us “in awe of” Him; He put that in every one of us.

I don’t know if you have ever wondered about the word “fearfully,” as I did, but if you ever come across a verse that has you scratching your head a bit, I would encourage you to dig deeper.

The more I’m in God’s word, the more I fall in love with it. Every word, every story, was written for Us! It’s our life manual, guidebook, and His love story to you and me. I’m fascinated by the Bible’s ability to change my heart and my way of thinking. It transforms us from self-centered to God-centered.

Today, I hope to remind you that YOU are “fearfully and wonderfully” made!
Hold onto that truth and store it in your heart.

Father, thank You so much for creating us to be “in awe of” You and “set apart.” Keep our hearts aligned to “glorify” you continuously. May we see You as You are, “Wonderous and Extraordinary.” Help us fall in love with Your Word, open ourselves to its transforming power, and never alter its meaning to fit what we want or wish it to mean. Let us be people who seek to stand on the truth and beauty of Your Word boldly. In Jesus’ name, Amen.