God Knows Us Best

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“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 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, your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:14-16 (NIV)

            This passage gives me pause. David again writes from his heart. Earlier in the chapter, he speaks of God’s presence with him in any circumstance—no matter where he happens to be. He pictures God knowing his thoughts even before he says anything.

            In our focus passage, David gives praise to God because of the unique way God had made him. The shepherd king speaks of God knowing him as God formed him in ‘the secret place’.

            David then makes a statement that causes me to pause. “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Several years ago, a daughter of a woman in our former church lost a child at birth. A friend and I talked about the loss. We tried to understand the why of God’s actions. The family almost lost the mother as well. I referred to the thought that ends our focus passage and still could not come to understand why God took this innocent baby from this family.

            Recently, the church received a prayer request from one of its members. A 17-year-old son of the husband had died in an auto accident. The TV news said he was running an errand for his mother. The pavement was wet and he seemed to be speeding, lost control of his vehicle, and hit a tree. The question “Why” comes to mind. This young man, whom I did not know, had been on a college visit to one of our state schools. He planned to pursue studies in science.

            All we can do in circumstances similar to these is understand that the family grieves the loss and ask God to guide them through this intense hurt.