Cool God Moment

I learned a lot from the Girl’s Retreat, but one of the coolest moments was when God revealed something to me in my quiet time Friday morning. I had been working on my talks for the retreat for a while, and by Wednesday of that week they were ready to go. The second talk was focused around Psalm 139:14

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made – Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Earlier in the week I had looked up the word “wonderfully,” and in Hebrew it is palah. It actually has a fabulous meaning.

פלה - Palah
1) to be distinct, marked out, be separated, be distinguished
a) (Niphal)
1) to be distinct, be separated, be distinguished
2) to be wonderful
b) (Hiphil) to make separate, set apart
*Reference: Blueletterbible.org

That’s a great thought. In English we use the word “wonderful” to say things like “that was a wonderful dinner” or “I saw a wonderful movie last night.” Palah means so much more than that. God considers each of us a miraculous creation. It's easy to look at 6 billion people on earth and think, Why am I any different than anyone else? In the grand scheme of things, I don't matter.

But God challenges that idea. Psalm 139 talks about how each person is set apart from birth. The same care and passion that God created the Himalayas and the Grand Canyon He used to create us. That’s just amazing to me.

But it gets better.

Friday morning I began my Beth Moore study called “Believing God” about having the faith to take God at his word. When she discussed people of great faith, she used the example of Joshua leading the people into the Promised Land by taking the city of Jericho.

She said, “Look at Joshua 3:5. Joshua is speaking to the people before God parts the Jordan river to lead them to Jericho.

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.
~Joshua 3:5 NIV

“The word ‘amazing’ in Hebrew is ‘Palah’”

What! I freaked out when she said that. She went on to describe the same word that I had just looked up. The same word that is used to describe God’s miracle of parting the Jordan River and conquering Jericho is used to describe God’s creation of each of us as His miracles! What an amazing lesson. It was really cool that God showed me that connection last minute so I could share it with the girls on Saturday.