Formed in Secret
There is something deeply personal about the words in Psalm 139: 14-16.
14: I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15: My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16: Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Almost anyone who has been in church for any length of time has heard verse 14 quoted. It is quoted as an affirmation of how wonderful we are as God’s ultimate creation. But rarely are verses 15 and 16 joined with it so that we understand more fully what David was saying. David does not say this after looking at the best parts of himself. He says this in the middle of acknowledging that God sees everything.
“My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret…”
David is not just speaking about creation. He is describing a process that most of us never see or fully understand.
There is a part of life that is formed in secret, underneath what we decorate and dress up. This is the part of us that is not on display, the part that only He truly knows.
It is the hidden place where our identity begins to take shape.
The Work No One Sees
David says he was “curiously wrought.”
His words describe something intricate and intentional, carefully woven and skillfully formed. We are neither random nor accidental. There is a level of care in how life is formed that we often overlook because we are focused on what becomes visible.
But what becomes visible is always the result of what was first formed in secret.
He then describes this formation as happening in “the lowest parts of the earth.” He is using poetic license to describe being formed in the womb. A place that is hidden, unseen, and yet, it is where everything begins.
The Deeper Reality
God is not reacting to your life as it unfolds. He is not surprised by your delays.
He is not adjusting to your circumstances. He is not waiting to see how things turn out. He knows your life as a completed work while you experience it in parts.
What feels unfinished to you has never been unseen by God. The hidden work matters. The quiet formation matters. The parts no one else recognizes still carry purpose. You are not being assembled randomly over time. You are being revealed. While we try to fix the parts, we find unattractive, God is forming the whole.
It is easy to say you are wonderfully made when you focus on what you appreciate. It is much harder to say it when you realize that God sees what you would rather avoid.
And still calls His work marvelous.