Formed with a Future

Psalm 139:13–18 KJV 1900

13 For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. 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. 17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: When I awake, I am still with thee.

Series: When God Calls

Sermon: Formed with a Future

Scripture: Psalm 139:13-18 (KJV)

Speaker: Rev. Adrian S. Taylor

Main Idea:

God did not form you by accident, and He did not shape you without purpose, because Psalm 139 declares that the Lord personally crafted you in the womb with sovereign care and perfect wisdom. Before your days ever unfolded in time, God already saw them, wrote them, and ordered them, which means your life is not random, and your future is not uncertain to Him. Therefore, the call of God is not a guess or a gamble; it is the Lord directing a life He designed, steering a story He authored, and consecrating a servant He has already prepared.

Introduction

When Michelangelo approached a massive, flawed block of marble, most people saw nothing but a stone too scarred to matter. To them it was a leftover piece, a forgotten slab, a burden sitting in the yard. But Michelangelo looked again, and he kept looking, until he saw what nobody else could see. He did not see a discarded block of stone; he saw David. While others saw only marble, Michelangelo saw a masterpiece already waiting inside, and he began to chisel away everything that did not belong.

That is a picture of how God deals with our lives. We look at ourselves and see what is unfinished, what is unrefined, what is painful, and what is unclear. We see the cracks and the scars, the seasons we do not understand, and the questions we cannot answer. The LORD sees purpose where you see problems. He sees calling where you see confusion. He sees the end from the beginning, and He knows what He is forming in you.

As we step into this new year and begin this series, When God Calls, I want you to understand something from the start. God has a calling for every life He has formed. The tension we live with is this: we have to keep living while we are still deciphering His divine will and purpose. We want the whole map, but God often gives only the next step. We want the full explanation, but God calls us to full obedience first. Yet Psalm 139 does not leave us guessing about whether life has meaning; it teaches us that God formed us with precision, and God framed us with purpose.

In Psalm 139:13-18, David pulls back the curtain and reminds us that the Lord was not absent when we were being made, and He is not absent now that we are being led. He saw us in the hidden place. He wrote the stories of our lives before they began. When we wake up to another morning, another assignment, another challenge, another opportunity, we can say it by faith, “I am still with thee.”

So today, do not approach this sermon like someone staring at a cold block of marble, convinced that nothing good can come from it. Approach it like a believer who trusts the Master Sculptor. The Lord is shaping a life He designed, and guiding a future He has planned. And when God calls our names, we can answer with confidence, because we were not formed by accident. We were formed with a future.

Psalm 139 is a celebration of the greatness of God our creator! Our lives are not the byproduct of a evolution, nor a haphazard collision of cosmic particles. We have been fitly formed by the construct of an omniscient God. In Psalm 139 we are taught about:

God’s omniscience: He knows all (vv. 1-6)

God’s omnipresence: He is everywhere (vv. 7-12)

God’s omnipotent craftsmanship: He made us (vv. 13-16)

God’s precious thoughts and personal relationship: He treasures His people (vv. 17-18)

The psalm then turns toward holiness and loyalty to God (vv. 19-24).

I. God’s Personal Formation (Psalm 139:13-14)

A. Possessing by God (Psalm 139:13)

Psalm 139:13: “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.”

David begins with a confession of ownership and intimacy. When he says God “possessed my reins,” he is not speaking about anatomy as much as identity. In the Scriptures, the “reins” represent the inward life, the seat of desires, motives, conscience, and spiritual direction. David is declaring that the Lord did not merely create an exterior shell. God laid claim to the inward man. That truth means your deepest self is not self-made, self-defined, or self-governed. It is God-given.

Then David says, “thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.” The word choice emphasizes God’s personal involvement in hidden places. What was secret to the human eye was never secluded from heaven’s view. The same God who formed Adam by His own hand and breathed life into him is the same God who forms every person with intentional care. In other words, life begins with God, belongs to God, and is accountable to God. This is why Scripture repeatedly speaks of God’s forming work in the womb as holy craftsmanship and providential purpose, not biological chance.

This is also why God’s call is never random. If God possessed our inward life before we could speak, then God is able to direct our heart when we are unsure, unsettled, or afraid. The Lord who covered us in the womb can cover us in His will.

The Lord formed you with a future. What is God’s plan for you?

Cross-Reference Scriptures: Jeremiah 1:5; Job 33:4; Proverbs 20:27; Isaiah 44:24; Luke 1:41-44

Jeremiah 1:5 “5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

Job 33:4 “4 The Spirit of God hath made me, And the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”

Proverbs 20:27 “27 The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, Searching all the inward parts of the belly.”

Isaiah 44:24 “24 Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, And he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; That stretcheth forth the heavens alone; That spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;”

Luke 1:41–44 “41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”

B. Praising the God Our Maker (Psalm 139:14)

Psalm 139:14: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

David’s response to God’s forming work is worship. He does not start with self-esteem. He starts with God-exaltation. “I will praise thee,” because the doctrine of creation is meant to lead to doxology. When David says, “fearfully and wonderfully made,” he is testifying that the human person is an awe-inspiring work of God, fashioned with reverence, wisdom, and power. The fear here is not terror; it is holy awe. David is overwhelmed that the God of heaven would work with such detail and skill in the formation of one life.

If you want a glimpse of that craftsmanship, consider what the Lord built into a single human body. An adult frame typically carries about 206 bones, joined and strengthened for both stability and movement. God placed more than 600 muscles to pull, lift, bend, and support, and He organized those parts into 11 major organ systems that work together every moment you are alive. The systems of the body include the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, integumentary, lymphatic, muscular, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, skeletal, and urinary systems. Your heart beats about 100,000 times in a day, pushing life through a vast network of blood vessels that, stretched out, would span about 60,000 miles. Your brain contains about 86 billion nerve cells, and inside nearly every cell the Lord wrote an information code of about 3 billion DNA base pairs. Even your skin, the organ that covers you, spreads across roughly 15 to 20 square feet, guarding what God is doing within you.

When David says, “fearfully and wonderfully made,” he is not exaggerating. He is telling the truth about a God whose wisdom shows up in the details.

David then declares, “marvellous are thy works.” He understands that the marvel is not man, but the Maker. This is vital for the church in every generation. When we forget the God who made us, we will misuse the life He gave us. But when we see ourselves as God’s workmanship, we will treat our bodies, our minds, and our calling as something that belongs to the Lord. Scripture teaches that believers are not only created by God, but recreated by grace, made new in Christ for God’s purposes. Therefore, our formation is not merely physical. It points to a spiritual calling. The One who crafted us can redeem us, and the One who redeemed us can commission us.

Finally, David says, “my soul knoweth right well.” This is conviction, not speculation. In a world of confusion about identity, David anchors identity in theology. God made us, therefore we matter. God made you, therefore you belong to Him. God made you, therefore you can answer His call with worshipful confidence.

The Lord formed you with a future. What is God’s plan for you?

Cross-Reference Scriptures: Genesis 1:26-27; isaiah 64:8; Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; James 1:17

Genesis 1:26–27 “26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Isaiah 64:8 “8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; We are the clay, and thou our potter; And we all are the work of thy hand.”

Ephesians 2:10 “10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

James 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

II. God’s Purposeful Framework (Psalm 139:15-16)

A. Beheld Before Birth (Psalm 139:15)

Psalm 139:15: “My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”

David takes us into the hidden room where only God can see clearly. Parents may long to meet their child and wonder who that baby will become, but David testifies that God already knew him, already saw him, and already watched over him. Long before any human eye could recognize a face, the Lord’s eye was fixed on that forming life. “My substance was not hid from thee.” God did not discover David later. God did not learn David over time. God knew him at the beginning.

We can look at our children and only imagine their future, but when God looks at us, He knows our future as surely as He knows our beginning. There are apps that can simulate how a child may look as they age. Imagine the foreknowledge of God, not only knowing what you would look like, but knowing what your life would be like.

Notice the language of God’s craftsmanship. David says he was “made in secret” and “curiously wrought.” That phrase points to careful, skillful weaving, like a master artisan working with precision. What appears hidden to us is holy work to God. That is why Scripture says the Lord forms life and holds it with purpose. Job confessed, “Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about” (Job 10:8). Isaiah declared, “The LORD that formed thee from the womb” (Isaiah 44:2). Jeremiah heard God say, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee” (Jeremiah 1:5). The Bible presents the womb as a place of divine oversight, not random development.

For the believer, this is comfort and correction. Comfort, because if God watched over you in the secret place, He has not lost sight of you in the public place. Correction, because you cannot treat lightly what God has formed carefully. The Lord knew you when no one else could see you, and His knowledge was not distant. It was fatherly, watchful, and purposeful.

The Lord formed you with a future. What is God’s plan for you?

Cross-Reference Scriptures: Jeremiah 1:5; Job 10:8-12; Isaiah 44:2; Ecclesiastes 11:5; Luke 1:15

Jeremiah 1:5 “5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

Job 10:8–12 “8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me Together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. 9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; And wilt thou bring me into dust again? 10 Hast thou not poured me out as milk, And curdled me like cheese? 11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, And hast fenced me with bones and sinews. 12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, And thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.”

Isaiah 44:2 “2 Thus saith the Lord that made thee, And formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; And thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.”

Ecclesiastes 11:5 “5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.”

Luke 1:15 “15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.”

B. Booked Before the Beginning (Psalm 139:16)

Psalm 139:16: “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.”

Psalm 139:16 HCSB

16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.

David moves from God’s watchful eye to God’s written plan. He says, “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect.” Even when David was unfinished, God saw him fully. That is the greatness of God’s knowledge. The Lord is never confused by what is incomplete. God sees the seed and knows the harvest. God sees the raw material and knows the finished work.

Then David gives a breathtaking declaration: “in thy book all my members were written.” The idea is simple but strong. God is not reacting to your life like a man trying to keep up with the moment. He is ruling your life according to His wisdom and redemptive will. Another translation captures the sense by saying that all your days were written and planned before a single one began. David’s point is not that life is meaningless, but that life is guided. God’s providence does not erase human choices, but it does establish divine purpose. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD” (Psalm 37:23). “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Even in suffering, believers are not outside God’s plan, because He is the God who works all things after the counsel of His own will (Ephesians 1:11).

This is blessed assurance for the called life. When David did not know what was next, God already knew. When David did not understand the season, God already had it written. When David could not see around the corner, God had already planned the road. And because God’s plan is shaped by redemption, the believer can trust that God is not only writing days, but working those days toward His holy ends. Your life is not random, and your calling is not a gamble. The Lord has a framework, and He is faithful to fulfill what He has purposed.

Illustration: When I first started reading chapter books I’d always skip to the end until I learned to appreciate plot development.

Abraham’s story

Jacob’s story

Joseph’s story

The Lord formed you with a future. What is God’s plan for you?

Cross-Reference Scriptures: Psalm 37:23; Proverbs 16:9; Isaiah 46:9-10; Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:11

Psalm 37:23 “23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: And he delighteth in his way.”

Proverbs 16:9 “9 A man’s heart deviseth his way: But the Lord directeth his steps.”

Isaiah 46:9–10 “9 Remember the former things of old: For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times the things that are not yet done, Saying, My counsel shall stand, And I will do all my pleasure:”

Romans 8:28–30 “28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Ephesians 1:11 “11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”

III. God’s Planned Future (Psalm 139:17-18)

A. Constant Consideration (Psalm 139:17)

Psalm 139:17: “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!”

David shifts from how God formed him to how God focuses on him. He declares that God’s thoughts are “precious,” meaning treasured, weighty, and valuable. David is not claiming that he is worthy of constant attention. He is testifying that God is gracious enough to give it. The Lord does not merely think true thoughts about us. He thinks tender thoughts toward us. The God of infinite greatness is also the God of intimate care.

That truth steadies the believer when life feels overlooked. People can forget your name, misjudge your motives, and miss the good God is doing in you. But the Lord’s thoughts are neither few nor fleeting. Jeremiah reminded Israel that the Lord had thoughts of peace and a future for His people (Jeremiah 29:11). David testified elsewhere that God’s thoughts and works toward His people are more than can be counted (Psalm 40:5). When Jesus spoke of the Father’s care, He pointed to sparrows and the hairs on our head to show that God’s attention reaches into the smallest details (Matthew 10:29-31).

So the call of God does not rest on your ability to map your future. It rests on the fact that God has already set His mind upon you. His thoughts are not random. They are redemptive. They are wise. They are good. The same God who planned your formation is thinking through your next steps, your present burdens, and your future assignment.

The Lord formed you with a future, and He is thinking about you right now What is God’s plan for you?

Cross-Reference Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 40:5, 92:5; Matthew 10:29-31; Romans 11:33

Jeremiah 29:11 “11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Psalm 40:5 “5 Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, And thy thoughts which are to us-ward: They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.”

Psalm 92:5 “5 O Lord, how great are thy works! And thy thoughts are very deep.”

Matthew 10:29–31 “29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

Romans 11:33 “33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”

B. Continual Companionship (Psalm 139:18)

Psalm 139:18: “If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”

David takes God’s precious thoughts and turns them into a precious assurance. He says God’s thoughts are so many that counting them is like trying to count the sand. Then he lands the plane with a simple, strengthening line: “when I awake, I am still with thee.” In other words, God’s presence is not seasonal. It is not occasional. It is not dependent on David’s mood, schedule, or strength. The Lord remains.

This is the providential future of the believer. Your future is not merely a timeline of events. It is a pathway walked with God. Sleep is a picture of human limitation. You can only see so far. You can only do so much. You must lay your head down and release control. But when you open your eyes again, the Lord has not moved. David’s confidence matches the promise God gives throughout Scripture: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus sealed that promise for the church when He said, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).

When God calls you into an unknown assignment, this is what you hold on to. God does not merely send you. God stays with you. In the valley, He is present (Psalm 23:4). In the night watches, He keeps you (Psalm 121:3-4). In suffering and trial, nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8:38-39). Providence means the Lord is not only writing your days. He is walking through your days, guiding, guarding, and governing your future for His glory.

**The Lord formed you with a future, and He will be with you all the way through it. **What is God’s plan for you?

Cross-Reference Scriptures: Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 28:20, Psalm 23:4, 121:3-4; Romans 8:38-39

Hebrews 13:5 “5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Matthew 28:20 “20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Psalm 23:4 “4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

Psalm 121:3–4 “3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.”

Romans 8:38–39 “38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Sermon Close

David said, “When I awake, I am still with thee.”

When you wake up and the bills are still on the table, I am still with thee. When you wake up and the report still reads the same, I am still with thee. When you wake up and the burden still feels heavy, I am still with thee. When you wake up and the enemy still seems loud, I am still with thee.

You were not formed by accident, and you are not living without a plan. The God who saw you in secret is the God who sees you in public. The God who wrote your days is the God who walks through your days. Even when your eyes cannot see the next step, you can step forward by faith, because the Lord has already spoken, I am still with thee.

When you wake up to confusion, I am still with thee. When you wake up to fear, I am still with thee. When you wake up to temptation, I am still with thee. When you wake up to sorrow, I am still with thee.

When you wake up to a brand new season of calling, I am still with thee.

So do not let your past cancel your purpose. Do not let your weakness silence your witness. Do not let your uncertainty steal your obedience. The Lord formed you with a future, and the Lord will stay with you through that future.

If you are saved, hold on to it. If you are called, walk in it. If you are weary, lean into it. If you are lost, come to Him right now. Because the greatest assurance is not that you can find God, but that God has already found you. He is saying to you, I am still with thee.

Hymn of Providence and Plan

He Leadeth Me

Verse 1 He leadeth me: O blessed thought! O words with heavenly comfort fraught! Whate’er I do, where’er I be, Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Refrain He leadeth me, He leadeth me, By His own hand He leadeth me; His faithful follower I would be, For by His hand He leadeth me.

Invitation

If you need Jesus Christ as Savior, come. If you need to surrender to His call, come. If you need to return to His will, come. The God who formed you is the God who will forgive you, fill you, and faithfully lead you. And when you wake up tomorrow morning, you will be able to say it by faith, “I am still with thee.”