Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
Month 7: Who Am I? · Memory Verse
Today's Scripture
Read together: Psalm 139:13-14
13 For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.
Memory Verse
“I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.”— Psalm 139:14 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 21-23
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (David prepares everything for the temple his son Solomon will build for the Lord.)The Heart of It
Let's slow down on three big words David chose. "Fearfully" doesn't mean scary. It's an old way of saying with awe and wonder. It's the way you'd whisper standing under a sky full of stars. "Wonderfully" means full of wonders. It means astonishing, the kind of thing that makes you say "Whoa." And "marvelous" means the works of God are so good they're worth marveling at. Put it all together, and David is basically shouting: "God, when I think about how You made me, it takes my breath away! And deep down, my soul knows it's true!"
He's right, too. Your eyes can tell apart more than a million shades of color. Your ears catch a whisper across a room. Your heart will beat about two and a half billion times in your life, and you never have to tell it to. Your brain is doing more right now than all the world's computers combined. None of that is bragging. It's praise. David isn't saying "Look how great I am." He's saying "Look how great my Maker is." When you memorize this verse, you're not learning to feel proud. You're learning to look at yourself and worship the One who put you together with such care.
Around the Table
"Fearfully and wonderfully made" means God made you SO amazing it makes us go "Wow!" Your blinking eyes, your wiggly toes, your beating heart. It's all God's wonderful work!
Let's do it: Do the motions while you say the verse. Point up ("I will praise You"). Hug yourself ("wonderfully made"). Then throw your arms wide ("marvelous are Your works!").
Saying "I'm wonderfully made" isn't bragging. It's praising God, who made you. What's one part of your body you think is really cleverly designed?
Let's talk: Can someone praise God for how they were made and still be humble? How?
"Fearfully" means with reverent awe. David turns the wonder of his own body into worship of God. That's the opposite of pride, which says "look at me." It's also the opposite of self-hatred, which says "I'm worthless." Both miss the point.
Let's go deeper: How does worshiping your Maker actually protect you from both arrogance and feeling worthless?
💬 Conversation Starter
Whoever can name the most "wonders" inside the human body in 30 seconds wins — then say together, "Marvelous are Your works!"
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Sometimes someone will say the body is "just biology that happened by chance." We can kindly point out something interesting. Even non-believing scientists describe living cells using the language of design. They talk about code, machines, motors, and blueprints. Designs point to a Designer (). And we share that gently, "with gentleness and respect" (). We want to spark wonder, not to win.
For Dad · Go Deeper
A memory verse keeps doing its quiet work long after the lesson ends. It becomes the voice your child hears at 2 a.m. when the lie says "you're not enough." is a particularly strategic verse to bury deep, because it ties self-worth directly to God's craftsmanship rather than to comparison. Don't just have them recite it. Help them feel it. Pull up a short video on the eye, the heart, or DNA replication, and let the awe lead to praise. And model the heart of the verse yourself. A dad who can look at his own life and say "marvelous are Your works," instead of cataloguing his flaws, teaches his kids that worship is the right response to being made by God. Self-criticism is not.
Draws on: Sean McDowell, A Rebel's Manifesto.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, when I think about how carefully You made me, it makes me want to praise You. I am fearfully and wonderfully made — marvelous are Your works. Help my soul know that very well today. In Jesus' name, amen."
Looking at how I'm made should lead me to worship the One who made me.