A Significant Life

A story has been told of a South Sea Islander who proudly displayed his Bible to a soldier during World War II. "We've outgrown that sort of thing," the soldier said. The native smiled back, "It's a good thing we haven't. If it were not for this book, you would have been a meal by now!"

Life is indeed significant to God and so He made sure this was recorded in His holy word, the Bible. Today is "Sanctity of Life" Sunday where we celebrate life as God intended. He is the Creator of all things, all life, and the of human life in particular. It is appropriate, then, on this day to look at just how significant you are to your Creator.

Scripture Passage: Psalm 139

Main Thought:
Because the Creator has created you, you can relish your awesome significance to Him and to His world.

Outline:

You are significant because God is all-knowing and personally acquainted with everything about you.
You are significant because God is everywhere-present to lead you and protect you no matter where you go.
You are significant because God is the Creator of all life who formed your life knowing beforehand every step you would take.

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:1-6, NKJV)

1. You are significant because God is all-knowing and personally acquainted with everything about you.

How well does your beloved spouse know you? Or your mother or father, how well do they know you? There used to be a popular television show called, "The Newlywed Game," which made a game out of how well the husband knew the wife's likes and dislikes and how well the wife knew her husband. It was a lot of fun but quite revealing; it showed how much they did NOT know about one another. Even couples who have been married for many, many years have trouble answering even basic questions about each other. Even when we try, it is very hard to really know someone else well. Communication is crucial; in particular communication on a very open and intimate level, pouring out your heart to your beloved is the only way to begin to really know someone.

This raises a bigger question, though. How well does God know you? Does He really know your likes and dislikes? Does He care? The Psalmist, King David, considered this question and wrote down his marvelous conclusions, guided by the Holy Spirit. Psalm 139 is the result and many Jewish scholars consider this to be the chief of his Psalms. What did David conclude about our LORD and His knowledge of you? David writes that God:

Knows your sitting down and rising up (v2a).
Knows your thoughts even before you think them (v2b).
Knows your path in life (v3a).
Knows all your ways, even your likes and dislikes (v3b).
Knows every word you will speak (v4).

These first four verses reveal that God is omniscient -- He is all-knowing. He is constantly, currently aware of all that is going on in your life. Moreover, He is constantly, currently aware of all that goes on in everyone's life all over the world! Even more, He is constantly, currently aware of all that has ever or will ever go on in everyone's life in all the world! This passage shows that God is not some far off, disinterested deity. He did not wind things up like a clock and just watch what happens in the world. He knows intimately about you.

O LORD, You have searched me and known me... You have hedged [enclosed] me behind and before, and laid your hand upon me. (Psalm 139:1,5 NKJV)

God is personally involved with you since he searches you and knows you (v1), encloses you with His divine protection (v5a), and lays His hand of power and providence upon you (v5b). God lays His hand upon you like a doctor examining a patient, probing constantly to understand and help his patient.

Your significance to Him is SO significant that He is personally involved in every aspect of your life: things you think, things you say, and things you do. That about sums it up. God knows you so well that He can be involved in your life:

Like a coach who does not just coach you on the practice field but twenty-four hours a day, He works to build you up, extend you, and bring you to peak performance.
Like a counselor who does not need an appointment before you can see him, God is available twenty-four hours a day to give you wisdom and guidance.
Like a best friend who never leaves your side, nor do you want Him to leave, to love and nurture you always.
Like a body guard who never leaves your side but is constantly on duty to protect you; a body guard who can never be overcome by evil, never be bribed, and never fall to a superior power.

How do you respond to such awesome significance? Your life is awesomely significant to God. Frankly, I am overwhelmed at such a thought, as was David who said, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it" (Psalm 139:6, NKJV). I also reserve my highest gratitude to God for knowing me and involving Himself in my life at every turn. How can you thank someone enough for caring for you every moment of the day, week, year, and forever! It is something that one must accept by faith and not by feelings. Where does the Psalmist say he "feels" like God knows him personally? He does not. He knows it and offers this Psalm as affirmation of the fact. Many times your feelings over circumstances, usually bad circumstances, tell you that God must not care for you. Your feelings are lying to you in these cases. In your life, today, moment-by-moment, accept by faith what is true for you in Christ -- God personally cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell [the deep places of the Earth], behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me," even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You (Psalm 139:7-12, NKJV)

2. You are significant because God is everywhere-present to lead you and protect you no matter where you go.

I remember being in some very difficult places in my life. One of them was at a desk in school taking tests. Another was at an amusement park on a ride called "The Bullet." Still another was at the hospital with a friend whose baby lay dying in the emergency room. Yet the Psalmist reminds us in his prayer to the LORD, "Where can I go from Your Spirit?" (Psalm 139:7a, NKJV). No matter where you go, God is there:

In the glory of Heaven or the depths of the Earth (v8).
Soaring with the eagles or swimming with the sharks (v9).
In a sunny day or gloomy night (vv11-12).

God is there in your successes -- the big ones (marriage, children, job, personal character) and the little ones (a real close parking space at the shopping mall). God is there in the mundane parts of life -- when the alarm goes off, when you perform that same task at the same time for the millionth time. God is there in the darkness also.

I remember when I was about eight years old. I was very afraid of the dark. At night in my bedroom, I would be lying in bed when a shadow in the room would raise a specter of great fear. I would hear every creaky noise in the house. I was sure a burglar was walking just outside the closed door to my room. I would cry for what seemed an eternity until I realized -- if the burglar heard me crying he would burst through the door to get me! So I would lie on the bed gripped with fear. The devil would like nothing better than for people to be frozen by their fears of whatever because frozen means unfruitful. But I had heard in church the power in Jesus' name, that He had all authority vested in Him (Matt. 28:18). I learned to call on Jesus and tell the devil to leave. I want you to know that even at that early age, peace would enter my heart even in the darkness! God is there in the darkness also, even for a very young, very scared little boy.

God is everywhere-present to lead, to protect, and to befriend you -- you are never alone! If darkness is the fear of a child, then certainly being alone is the fear of an adult. Some say this is the #1 fear of people in this country. Your significance to God is so significant that he uses His everywhere-present nature to reach you even in the dark alone times. There He comforts you and leads you along His path. So do not be afraid, even of the dark, alone times. But if you do get afraid, know that God is everywhere-present, present with you, and as close as your prayer.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame [bones] was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the Earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:13-16, NKJV)

3. You are significant because God is the Creator of all life who formed your life knowing beforehand every step you would take.

The Psalmist looks at what God accomplished in his own life. Back at the beginning, in his mother's womb, our Creator God was at work. The Psalmist declares that God:

Formed him in His mother's body (v13a).
Wove together His whole person in the womb (vv13b,15a).
Fearfully and wonderfully made him (v14a).
Performed a marvelous work of creation (v14b).
Skillfully made the person of David (v15b).

All the skill and creativity of God was used to create you in the womb. Note that you are created in the image of God:

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them... (Genesis 1:27-28a, NKJV)

Note the significance of your conception in the womb of your mother: that is where your life began according to the Psalmist. It is "you" who were formed in the inward parts, "me" who was woven together, skillfully wrought, fearfully and wonderfully made. The Psalmist does not extol the wonder of an unformed "fetus" in the womb, nor does he say, imply, or suggest in any way that a "tumor" or "piece of tissue" is fearfully and wonderfully made. He is talking about a person, himself, was formed in the womb. Those who suggest that a person is not a person before birth need to go back and heed the Word of God in Scripture. He has made you and that makes you significant and precious in His sight. And so all human life is significant and precious to God.

Here is an exciting truth found in verse 16: God even knew about all the days of your life BEFORE you were formed in the womb: "Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed, and in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them" (Psalm 139:16, NKJV). So why is this exciting? Consider the past years of your life for a moment. Were there any parts of it you would rather forget, parts that were particularly disappointing to God? Yet God, who is all-knowing as we have seen, knew about all your days. Since He created time, He lives above and beyond time. He is not limited by time so He sees the past, present, and future at once.

He knew all about every day you would live on this Earth.
He knew all about your works of compassion and love.
He knew about every time you went off on your own and sinned.
He rejoiced in the knowledge of the day you would turn from your sin and embrace the LORD Jesus Christ as your Savior.

God knew all of this and still decided to make YOU!

Obviously, God made you because He loves you and wants to use you in His kingdom. You have a grand purpose to Him and He has a plan for you. Live your life in the awesome knowledge of your significance to God. Live it by faith in His Son, following Him, and seeking His will at every step -- because you are significant to Him

Take special care of the life He has made and given to you. Life is precious and sacred. YOUR life is precious and sacred. Do not spend your time wandering about aimlessly but take aim at God's gifts in you. Use them! Do not allow your time in life to slip through your hands but take some time to organize, prioritize, and then execute those things that are the most meaningful to God in His kingdom:

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33, NKJV)

Reflect on YOUR Life:

It is time to pray with the Psalmist your gratitude for God's awesome work in your life: His intimate knowledge of you, His everywhere-present leadership in your life, and His magnificent creation of you. You are so significant to Him! Pray then, as the King David prayed:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24, NKJV)

The Way is Jesus Christ (John 14:6)!