"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it!" (Psalm 139:13-14 NLT)
We are living tabernacles. And whilst we are seeking to submit our unique structure to divine plan, we acknowledge that the Lord Himself set these fragile tents of meeting into motion. We have opportunity to coexist with God only because of His love, creativity and foresight.
Take a moment this morning to mentally tour your personal tabernacle. Walk the corridors slowly, as if seeing them for the first time. Enter the rooms with respect for the painstaking process that assembled each and every one. Appreciate the workmanship.
First, consider the physical structure. How many organs contribute and collaborate to keep us alive on a moment by moment basis? Bring to mind the bundle of nerves that communicates, the liters of blood that flow from head to toe and back again. Go deeper; recognize that there is cooperation and order even on a microscopic level; vital functions occuring far beyond our comprehension.
Pull back a bit and wonder over the scope of your personality. You have interests and aversions. Habits and traits. Talents and inadequacies. Areas of knowledge and areas of lack. Giftings and predispositions and abundant opportunity for growth.
Now think about your experiences: the places you’ve been and things you’ve seen. Revel in the conversations you’ve held and the dreams you’ve had. Sit with the sunsets you’ve witnessed, the triumphs and tragedies that have pass through your fingers. Feel the scars from the hurts you’ve endured and recall the joy from the mountaintops you have perched upon.
Realize today that all of this is a part of the tabernacle that we are seeking to set up rightly! God, in His infinite wisdom, has longed to dedicate every part and parcel of our story to His glory. This includes the lovely, stained glass panes but also the darkened corridors, the obvious altar spaces and the broom closets, too. There is no corner of our being that He is content to exclude.
What’s more: the variety, the range, the masterful nature of His design is praiseworthy, even if we are struggling to appreciate a particular detail or feature. If we can step back and see the big picture, what He is accomplishing in the confines of our frame is altogether wonderful!
"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Jesus Christ, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)
Lord, it’s tough for us to appreciate our everyday details. We often live too close to see what You are doing. Thank You for this gift of perspective today. Help us routinely pull back in wonder over the bigger picture. You are redeeming every corner and crevice, every door and window, every detail and design for Your glory. We are delighted that You would choose to dwell in us. Amen.