Psalm 139

It has been sad and depressing to hear all the ignoble talk recently about gender identity issues and who can go in what bathroom. 

I recommend contrasting all that chatter with the beautiful, uplifting, heavenly words of Psalm 139:

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.
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, 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[a] 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.
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 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.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.[c]
Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
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.

You may just be better off stopping here.  I think those words speak for themselves, and have no need of any further commentary from me.

Yes, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made".   God made us.  We did not create ourselves.  This means God made our gender.  We did not decide our gender, just like we did not decide our parents.  If we can choose our own gender, why cannot we not choose our own parents?  If we can change our gender, what else can we change?  Can we change our spouse at will?  Can we change our children at will?   

No, some things are not meant to be changed. 

 

God does not make mistakes.  If He created you male, your masculinity is a part of why He made you.  There is a reason it exists, rather than not exist.   If He created you female, your femininity is a part of why He made you.  There is a reason it exists, rather than not exist.  Discovering the reason of our existence is what makes like so dramatic and so interesting.   Trying to create our own reason for existence ultimately just means we decide for ourselves what life is all about.  Limiting life to our own vision and purpose serves to make life banal and devoid of meaning.

I pray for those who feel they have to change their God-given gender.  The reality is that no matter what, they cannot change it.   No surgery, no change in registration can alter who God made us as, nor His Dream for us.  The more we run from whom we are meant to be by God, the more frustrated we become, even if on the surface we may say things are OK.  No one who is a man who is living as a woman can say he has complete inner peace.  No one who is a woman who is living as a man can say that, either.  Why?  Because they are living in contradiction to the beautiful and exalting words of Psalm 139, which exalt and praise both God, and His pinnacle of creation, man.   Anyone who lives a life that conflicts with those noble words cannot ever have inner peace.

I pray people read and meditate on this beautiful Psalm everyday and realize that God, the Master Design, designed us all out of love, and for a purpose.  He knows us through and through, much better than we know ourselves.  He never abandons us.   We need to have faith and trust that God had a reason for creating us as He did; we all are "fearfully and wonderfully made".

Joseph, renowned offspring of David, pray for us.