The Struggle to Be Known

“The Struggle to be Known” – A 10-chapter devotional series for creatives and those who want to be more creative.

Psalm 139:13-14

13 For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.

I would venture to guess that most astronomers feel small and insignificant. Why? Because our universe is ginormous! If I studied it all day, I’d probably feel small too.

In recent decades, we’ve glimpsed farther into the universe than anyone could have imagined. With the Hubble Telescope, launched into orbit in 1990, astronomers can now see light that has traveled 46 billion light-years to reach us. To put that in perspective, a light-year is the distance light travels in a single year — about six trillion miles. Multiply that by 46 billion, and you start to feel the immensity of it all.

What a vast, astonishing expanse! Standing beneath the night sky, it’s easy to feel small. And yet, even amid this unimaginable grandeur, God knows each of us intimately. He sees and values every one of our lives, no matter how tiny they may seem in the scale of creation.

Considering this vastness, it would seem illogical for God to attach much importance to us. Yet, He does just that. He places enormous value on us. Even as a boy, staring at the stars on many a cold night, I felt the weight of it. Throughout my life, I’ve wrestled with the desire to make a meaningful contribution. I think many people feel that weight — the longing to make a difference with their lives.

So, what does this say about the nature of God?

Even with all its vastness, the universe does not contain our Creator. He is greater than it all. He exists throughout it and beyond it simultaneously. And since we are individually and uniquely created in His image, perhaps the same could be true of us. With self-awareness and the ability to ponder profound ideas — like the size of the universe — we might, in a sense, hold a glimpse of it within our finite minds. Above all, it is evident that God considers the creation of humankind to be His crowning achievement.

The Creator designed even the smallest details of us. He knits together our inmost being while we are still in our mother’s womb. And the most remarkable truth is that He calls His creation “wonderful.” Not our accomplishments, not what humanity has done, but us — our very being — crowned in glory.

It’s worth pausing to consider how this divine design mirrors the way creativity works in each of us. Just as God carefully designed each part of us, even our limitations and unique wiring, these boundaries can become the space in which our most authentic, original work emerges.

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Sidebar: Your Creative Limits Are Part of the Design

Psychologists studying creativity have found that constraints often increase originality rather than diminish it. Research in cognitive science shows that when people work within clear limits — limited tools, time, or resources — they tend to produce more inventive solutions than when given complete freedom.

This reflects something deeper about human creativity: no two minds are wired the same. Differences in attention, memory, emotion, and sensory sensitivity shape how each person creates. What feels like a limitation may actually be the boundary within which your most authentic work is formed. Why? Because the brain is forced to work with what it has.

Try this: Instead of fighting your creative limits — your pace, your temperament, your range — name them. Then create inside them. You may discover that what you thought was holding you back is part of how you were designed … to make something only you can create.

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I remember that cold evening when I first planted my telescope in our muddy yard and pointed it toward the moon. I gasped when I saw the mountains and craters scattered across its glowing surface for the first time. I also remember the first time I saw Saturn’s rings with my own eyes through that same telescope — a telescope we ordered from the Sears catalog. I ran inside to summon my family so they could see them too.

I had seen pictures of all these in books, but seeing them in person made a lasting impact. Imagine how much more of our universe is waiting to be discovered and how amazing those discoveries will make us feel! When we open our minds to such thoughts, we open our hearts to the glory and grandeur of God.

Here we are, in a remote corner of this unending celestial creation. Yet, God knows each of us inside and out. He knows us “full well.” That is my takeaway. As we struggle to be known on this tiny planet we call Earth, we were fully known before we ever came to be.

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Probing Deeper

How long has it been since you intentionally went outside on a clear evening and lifted your eyes toward the heavens? If the weather allows, admiring God’s handiwork in the sky can give you a fresh perspective on life. There is something about pausing and looking upward that settles the soul. Make time this week to stop and enjoy the creation around you. You may come face-to-face with your Creator.

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