BY GREG CRUM
“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Psalm 139:13-14
Here in Psalm 139, we read of God’s creation of mankind. It echoes the same sentiment conveyed in Genesis 1:26-27 and Genesis 2:7—that God purposefully, skillfully, and lovingly crafted this complete being we know as man. As the grandest of engineers, He planned, and as the most skillful of craftsmen, He built the spirit, soul, and body that would constitute His most beloved creation. Sure, the world would like for us to believe we came about either by chance or by the determination of our cells, but true science and common sense both declare we are fearfully and wonderfully made by the One True and Living God.
Hey brother or sister, has anyone told you lately how amazing you are? I mean, maybe not you individually, I guess that might be up for debate, but at least as a created being, you are amazingly engineered. Joking aside, throughout the Bible we get glimpses into the process God implemented to form man. We read of Him forming our first representative’s body from the dust of the ground and then breathing into him the breath of life. After Adam and Eve, as the NIV states, we read of Him “knitting us together” in our mother’s wombs. (Psalm 139:13)
I Thessalonians 5:23 helps us to understand that God didn’t just create shells for us to live in. No, man is much more than that. We read that we are three-part beings—spirit, soul and body. A human spirit, made in the image of God, that has been given the tools of a soul (mind, will and emotions—intellect), along with an “Earth suit” we call a body so we can live and interact in this environment. What an awesome, intricate being! Yeah, there’s no way we happened by chance or by the will and evolution of simple organisms!
Friends, the fact of the matter is that we are perfectly engineered for the role God has called us to. He thought of everything we would ever need to thrive in our environment and made provision for us in advance. Case in point, and one that should encourage some of you seeking the Lord for restoration of health in your body, God knew in advance that these bodies would need repair from time to time, and He made provision in these “tabernacles” to do just that!
Remember that biology class from all those years ago? If so, you may remember some discussions that presented the fact that our bodies are designed to mend damaged tissues, overcome injury, and restore normal function without external intervention.
What? Yeah, it’s true! The pharmaceutical and medical industries probably would rather you be ignorant of the fact, but when tissues are damaged, various cells already inside your body are mobilized to initiate the repair process, without the aid of externally sourced chemicals, herbs or procedures. We see this in cuts and bruises healing on their own, right? Absolutely!
You’ve heard of the human immune system, haven’t you? Guess who designed that? Our immune systems respond to damaged areas in our bodies to clear debris and prevent infection. When working as God designed, they do a wonderful job. Here are a few fun facts about our bodies that should encourage you to have more faith in God’s ability to restore health to that “Earth suit” of yours.
Did you know that even if 70% of the liver is removed it can regenerate within two weeks? Further, it’s been discovered that there are specific cells in the intestines that keep them protected and these cells fully regenerate in five to seven days. Intestinal issues? No worries, just believe God that the next batch of cells will grow in better! Ever had a broken bone?
You may not have realized it at the time, but within hours those bones were mending back, creating new bone where needed. What’s more, bone is not the only thing in our bodies to grow back; skin cells are in on the growth process all the time to the tune of 30,000 to 40,000 cells shed every day. From what I understand that amounts to total rejuvenation in about a month!
The list of things in our bodies that God has designed to refresh and restore goes on and on. I encourage you to do your own research; you’ll be amazed, and perhaps trust God’s wisdom in design and desire for your body to be healthier than what it is right now. God wants us to be well so much that He engineered us with the capacity to heal over and over again.
Greg Crum is the pastor at Calvary Temple in Lovely.