"She works with her hands in delight" Proverbs 31:13

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

"...stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." Job 37:14

"Ah Lord God! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You." Jeremiah 32:17

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Luke 12:27

"I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14

"Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His Truth endures to all generations." Psalm 100:3-5

Embracing Biblical Womanhood: Week 2

                           

Happy Tuesday Everyone! This week's memory verse is very much related to last week's verse (Genesis 1:27) in that it has to do with the way we were created:

"I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from Thee,  when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." Psalm 139: 14-16

Yes, this is a long one! I'm actually going to be focusing mainly on the highlighted verse, verse 14. It happens to be one of my favorite verses because it is such a precious reminder to me of how we were each given a special design by our Creator for a special purpose.

Have you ever disliked something about your outward appearance? I think everyone has. :) It's very easy to compare ourselves to others...or to have a long laundry list of characteristics, outward features, and defects that we wish we could change or didn't even have. God has given each of us a unique frame for the message He wished to communicate through our lives for His glory. Before we were even conceived, He had determined our beings and had fashioned us for the purpose that He wanted us to fulfill on this earth. How amazing is that?

Everyone has unchangeable features that we were born with such as our gender, our race, our physical characteristics, mental capacity, our birth order and siblings, our parents, the time in history when we were born, etc. Every detail of our lives was created by God and will be used for His purposes. We were fearfully and wonderfully made! Even if we do not like certain aspects about how we were made, we cannot reject our design or be ungrateful. Thank God for those unchangeable features. He has placed them in your life for a purpose, perhaps so that He can use them in a way that will help you develop inward character. Even though God is finished creating our outward beings, He is constantly molding and shaping our character so that we can become more Christ-like.

He has fashioned every part of us, even our defects, so that we may be able to grow stronger and mightier in Him alone...for His glory. "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him...But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou art our Potter; and we are all the work of Thy hand." Isaiah 64:4,8

"The Basket of Flowers"

"In the flowers which Mary most loved, her father was accustomed to point out the emblems of those Christian graces which adorns the character. Once in the early part of March, when, with transports of joy, she brought the first violet, he said, 'Let this charming violet serve as an image of humility, of reserve, and of ready, though always discreet, disposition to oblige. Its clothing has the color appropriated to modesty; it loves to flourish in places retired from common observation; and from beneath the leaves which cover it, it embalms the air with the most delicate fragrance. So, my dear child, may you be, like the violet, a lover of silence, disdaining the show of gaudy colors, never seeking to attract unnecessary notice, but striving to do good, without parade, so long as the flower of your life shall bloom. Try to resemble it dear Mary; let your adorning be not that outward adorning of gold and apparel, but may you strive to obtain that ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price' (1 Peter 3:3,4).

At the time when the lilies and the roses were fully expanded, and when the garden was in all its splendor, the old man, seeing his daughter elated with joy, pointed with his finger to a lily shining in the rays of the rising sun, and said: 'See, in this lily, my daughter, the symbol of innocence. Its leaves are of a whiteness which outvies that of the richest satin, and equals that of the driven snow. Happy is the daughter whose heart is also pure; remember, it is 'the pure in heart who shall see God.' But the more pure the color, the more difficult to preserve it in all its purity. The slightest taint can spoil the flower of the lily; and it must be touched even with the greatest precaution, lest it retain the blemish. Thus, also, one word, one thought, can rob the mind of its purity.

Let the rose,' said he pointing to that flower, 'be an image of modesty. The blush of modesty is more beautiful than that of the rose, as it rises to the cheek of a modest girl. But there is yet another lesson to be learned from the rose: after its beautiful colors have faded, it still retains its fragrance; when its leaves are brown and withered, they are even sweeter than in their fresh and lovely youth. Thus it is, dear Mary, with a true Christian. Thus let it be with you.'

Mary's father made the bouquet of lilies and roses, and, putting it into her hands, he said, 'These are brothers and sisters, and nothing can equal the beauty of bouquets and garlands where these flowers are mixed. Innocence and modesty are twin sisters, which cannot be separated. Yes, my dear child, that innocence might be always on her guard, God in His goodness, has given her modesty for a sister and companion, to anticipate the approach of danger. Be always modest, and you will be always virtuous. Oh, if the will of God be so, may you always be enabled, by His grace, to preserve in your heart the purity of the lily. The rose on your cheek must fade, outward beauty will decay, but it will be renewed again, if you but attain to the resurrection of the just; and then it shall flourish in immortal youth; so strive to acquire those graces of the mind which are unfading and imperishable.'"

(Taken from "The Basket of Flowers: A Tale for the Young" by Christoph von Schmid reprinted through Lamplighter Publications)

Wasn't that beautiful?