You are not an accident

You Are Not an Accident: What God Really Thinks About You

Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought, "I'm just not good enough"? Maybe you've spent years wishing you were smarter, more talented, more outgoing — more like someone else? I'll be honest with you: I spent most of my life until my 30s not thinking highly of myself at all. Dumb, ugly, fat — I had all these horrible ideas about myself. It wasn't until God said, "But you are my image. I created you to be the image bearer of me,” that everything began to change. And this morning, I want to share that same truth with you.

Made in the Image of God

In Genesis 1:26-27, something extraordinary happens. After creating the heavens, the seas, the land, the stars, the birds, the fish, and the animals, God pauses and says something different. He says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Notice the shift — He's not just speaking a word and watching something appear. He's saying, "Let's do something we've never done before and will never do again. Let's make something after our own image."

You were created to be the image bearer of God. Not the oceans. Not the majestic eagles. Not even the angels — and if you've read the book of Daniel or Revelation, you know those angels are pretty terrifying, with crazy eyes all over the place. No, you are the image of God. When all of creation sees you, the intention is that they go, "There is a God. Look at how great God is."

God Is Not a Watchmaker

Here's one of the biggest problems I see in the Christian world today: we've gotten this idea that God is a watchmaker. He makes a watch, winds it up, hands it over, and as long as it's working fine, He doesn't need to step in. We go to God only when something breaks down.

But that is not the God of Psalms 139.

In Psalms 139:1, the psalmist David writes, "Oh Lord, you have searched me, and you know me." That word searched is an active word. God is not sitting back in some distant palace, going, "All the watches are working well, I don't have to do anything." He says, "I want to be part of your life. I've searched you, and I know you."

He goes on in Psalms 139:2-3: "You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar... You search out my path, and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways." God wants to be involved in your everyday life — where you park, where you go to work, how you treat the waitress who forgot your refill. He wants intimacy with you.

Knitted Together With Purpose

This is where it gets deeply personal. In Psalms 139:13-14, David writes, "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

God knitted you. He was intentional about every single detail. He didn't grab a clump of clay and just throw something together. He intricately wove you. Thankfully, God knits a lot better than I do — I once tried knitting a scarf, and it started out wide and ended up looking completely unrecognizable. But God? He looked at every detail of who you are and said, "This is exactly what I want."

That means you were not born to the wrong parents. You are not in the wrong body. You are not in the wrong season. I fought for years about being an introvert. Pastors are supposed to be extroverted, right? Out there, charismatic, working the room. That's just not me. I want to find a corner at every event. And for so long I kept thinking, "God, you called the wrong guy." But He said, "No — I created you to be an introverted pastor who loves the sheep with an intimacy that is different."

Be who God created you to be. Don't try to be anybody else. God doesn't use a pattern. There is no pattern for you. There will never be another you. The world couldn't handle it.

His Thoughts Toward You Are Vast

In Psalms 139:17-18, David writes, "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand."

Can I tell you something we miss far too often? When you go through a rough season, and you finally kneel down and say, "God, here I am," God has already been thinking about you before you said a word. He's already been ahead of you. He's just waiting for you to catch up. The Bible tells us that the glance of our eyes makes God's heart beat faster. That's how much He loves you. He's just waiting for you to turn your eyes toward Him.

Who You Really Are

So let me leave you with this. The Bible is not silent about your identity. Here is who God says you are:

I absolutely adore my wife beyond all imagination. I would do anything for my daughters. And God laughs at that in comparison to how much He loves you. It doesn't even come close.

Putting It Into Practice

When is the last time you said, "Thank you, God, for me"? Not "God, fix me" or "God, I'm sorry I am who I am" — but genuinely thanked Him for how He made you?

Here are a few next steps to walk this out:

1. Stop listening to the wrong voices. So much of how we see ourselves comes from listening to the world rather than to God. Surround yourself with people who remind you that God loves you and created you on purpose.

2. Spend time in Psalms 139. Read it slowly. Let it sink in. Mark it up. Write notes in the margins. The Word needs to be chewed on, not just swallowed once.

3. Complete this sentence in prayer: "I am ___." Ask the Holy Spirit to fill in that blank. Ask God, "When you look at me, what do you see? What do you want to say to me?" And when that thought comes — don't discount it. Let Him speak.

You were knitted together. You were formed with intention. God grabbed your very substance and put you together — and He is not finished with you yet. He knows your thoughts, your struggles, your failures — and He still runs after you. That's the God who created you in His image.