Finally Feeling Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 

Psalm 139:13-14 NIV

For quite some time, I didn’t feel fearfully and wonderfully made. I felt misplaced and abnormally made. It was difficult to ever find my place in school or sports. I wasn’t academically challenged, but I wasn’t top ten. I wasn’t uncoordinated, but I wasn’t incredibly coordinated. It felt like I was just…meh. 

I dreamed of being someone great because that is what the chick flick movies and Seventeen magazines were about. On the surface, I wasn’t visibly moved by others’ comments, but deep down, I craved to be extraordinary. I craved to stand out. I fought to become someone and changed my mind umpteen times about who I wanted to be. First it was a vet, then a teacher, and then from a teacher to a psychologist. 

Becoming Firmly Rooted

Then, one spring day at a women’s conference, I opened my heart to God and said, “I’m tired of moving from one place to the other unsatisfied. What do You want me to do?” From that moment on, the Lord steadied me in what He has called me to do. There are still times when I feel misplaced and misunderstood, especially in my writing, but I am more firmly rooted in my identity. I know what God has called me to do, and He will make a way. 

As I look at the world today, I see a power struggle between men and women. I see myself back in school trying to be someone great, and I hear this ringing in my spirit:

“It’s an identity issue.”

The enemy has called our identities into question from the moment woman came from the rib of man. He did it to Eve when he questioned her about what God said concerning the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The question “Did God really say?” is racing through the minds of women all over the world today. 

It is no wonder that we are at the crux of an identity issue when instead of combating the lies of the enemy with the Word of God, we have succumbed to the lies of the world and undertaken the identity it has given us.

There is an identity issue because we have not wielded the Sword of the Spirit, but we have wielded the words of the world. It is no wonder that we are at the crux of an identity issue when instead of combating the lies of the enemy with the Word of God, we have succumbed to the lies of the world and undertaken the identity it has given us. We have allowed our surroundings and circumstances define who we are. 

Taking Our Place in the Body

We are all part of the body of Christ according to 1 Corinthians 12:12, and we all have a specific role to play. But society tells us we have to be a hand when we were created to be an eye. When we all try to operate out of a function we were not created to function in, there is chaos and disorder. 

I think the secret is discovering what part of the body we are to operate in, and then being that part of the body with all the confidence and authority given to us in Christ. Once we figure out where we’re supposed to be, there will be less of a struggle and more acceleration in all areas. When we operate as we’re supposed to, each fearfully and wonderfully made, there’s unity. Unity shows others it is God who has sent us. At His name, every knee will bow and every tongue confess (Romans 14:11).

Author | Taylor Phillips