“The temperature will be 94 degrees Fahrenheit, but it will feel like 104,” says the weather man.
And I smile. That is my world. He is describing me.
It’s kind of a faulty default.
My actual situation seldom reaches the extremes of how I feel or what I anticipate. Perhaps you are different, but my heat and chill “feel” indexes rarely match truthful reality.
I wonder at my inability to change some of the aspects of my character. Why can’t I be different? Why does God make some people cheerful and some melancholy? Some fearless and others fearful? Ambitious or unmotivated?
Is it simply personality driven or Spirit led? What flows from God’s Spirit within and what originates from one’s natural bent?
When the better reactions and responses of other people surpass my own, I question if perhaps they are more spiritual, their walk with the Lord deeper, or is their nature superior to mine?
The answers may be a little more complex than either my understanding or my judgement. However, I know that the God who created me, is able to transform the very framework of my inner being for the purpose of bringing Him the greatest glory.
The God who knit us knew exactly what He was doing. He makes no mistakes.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13 ESV)
I love the picture of an Almighty God tenderly knitting each pre-born soul. He knit me within a very calm mother’s womb. And although I possess an exceedingly sensitive radar system, I know that the Divine Hand of God stitched threads within my frame that invite His ongoing workmanship and ultimately point not to my glory but to His.The God who knit us knew exactly what He was doing. Share on X
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. (Psalm 139:1-2 ESV)
A God who knows what I’m thinking and what I say before I say it, surely knows all about faulty defaults and how to adjust my “feel like” gauges to reflect truth, to mirror Him. After all, He is the God who cares for the lily of the field, sees the sparrow fall, and the God who dwells within.
It’s a wonderful thing to be known and yet loved unreservedly. And it is also a marvelous thing to accept that His hand formed me in the way He wanted me to be, and so I am confident He continues to shape and mold me to be more like Him.
And although I may never completely master those quick “feel like” reactions or slow the immediate worse-case-scenario-heart-palpitations, He walks with me in them. His Word instructs me. His Spirit calms mine. He teaches me to think and feel as He desires.
“My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.” (Psalm 139:15 ESV)
The Knitter knows my frame. He knows my heart. He knows my thoughts. I can trust His work in my life.
Through many difficulties, the Apostle Paul gained a sweet assurance that in the very center of his weakness, the power and strength of Christ grew stronger. Enormous testings and trials, distresses and sufferings attested to the power of God over his default settings. He often wrote about it.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” ( 2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)
When my default is set to the “feels like,” His Spirit invites me to dial the thermometer to what is true. The Bible anchors every emotion. The weak links of my inner being stretch thin and fragile, but He offers hope through His Word. He reminds me He is the Knitter. He knits strength where by default there is none.
Life’s greatest challenges are part of how He grows us. Our needs demonstrate His indescribable strength through continuing transformation.
Although the weather map may look ominous, and the “feel-like’s” might be ridiculously high or low, there is One who quiets the winds and calms the seas. He makes the lame walk and the blind see. And He is the One who knits perfectly.
Rosi Pahl
Thank you so much. You’ve touched a core issue in my daily life…. Overcoming the “feels like” with His truth. And Ps 139 has been a much loved barometer.
Sylvia Schroeder
I’m there too. Truth versus what I’m thinking and feeling seems to me to be a difficult discipline. Thank you for understanding, reading, and commenting.
Katherine M Pasour
I think we all go through stages where we are dissatisfied with who we are. Teenagers , I believe, are especially vulnerable to insecurity. But God made us, we’re designed by His divine hand. How amazing is that? Thank you, Sylvia.
Sylvia Schroeder
Thank you Katherine! It is so amazing to think of God our Knitter with a divine hand.
Lois S.
But you should also remember that the “feels like” is based on realities as well– humidity, wind, etc. They are not just made up. So too in our lives.
Sylvia Schroeder
Good point Lois. I’m so very grateful we have an anchor in the storms!