READ: GENESIS 1:26-31; PSALM 139:13-17

As I was washing dishes recently, I got to thinking about how amazing the human body is…and how great the God who created us is. As I picked up each dish and took care of it, I was grateful for my ability to do that. As I felt my heart beating inside, I had a new kind of amazement.

From fingers that can grasp the smallest objects to hands with the ability to lift, scrub, and wave, we were created in a special way. From feet, legs, and toes that keep us balanced to a heart that keeps us alive, we have so much to us, so much that makes us who we are and gives us the ability to enjoy and take care of this earth.

I think about our lungs and how we can breathe without thinking as we go about our day, but also how they struggle—but still work—when we take off on a run. I think of all the other parts of our insides and how they keep us going, from our kidneys to our brains.

God knew what He was doing with each decision He made regarding the human body. He definitely had a plan, and He certainly put care into how we were formed. He didn’t just throw us together without thinking about it or create a body that’s simple but “good enough.”

I think of our bodies and I’m filled with gratitude for a God who made us this way. A God who showed love for us even as He worked on our design and put attention into every detail of our bodies. • Emily Acker

• What is it about your body that amazes you the most? Have you ever stopped to really think about the design of your body and the way God made you? Consider taking a moment to thank Him.

• Have you ever thought about how Jesus has a body like we do? When Jesus came and lived among us, He became fully human. Since the first humans sinned by rejecting God and rebelling against Him, our bodies experience pain and sickness and injuries. But the good news is, because Jesus was willing to let His body be broken for us, now everyone who’s put their trust in Jesus has the sure hope of being raised from the dead like He was. At Jesus’s return, our resurrected bodies will be like His resurrected body—free of pain, sickness, and injury, and we will get to enjoy living on the new heavens and new earth with Jesus forever!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14 (NIV)