Today as I hovered from place to place here in Asia, I found myself craving for just a little time and a quiet corner to commune with God. Instead of being time-effective, however, I found people, system, and traffic being less than efficient here. My wonderful moments on the other hand, came when I simply availed myself to linger around others. Delighting in the company of my sister, savouring the little moments around mealtimes, reminiscing over God’s faithfulness on my family, reminded me of the real reason why we are here. It’s not that bad to ‘sweat it over the little stuff’ at times – given the right context. Little details can often contribute towards the larger, more meaningful picture of our existence. God taking the effort to ‘fuss’ over the little details in the Bible, that too can do us much good. Details in His Word can simply point us towards the largeness of His heart, towards the limitlessness of His love .
Post by the Husband
Acts 22:11
“And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.”
Have you ever wondered why there are so many little details in the Bible?
And yet there are large chunks which we would consider “missing”.
For example, here Paul describes being “led by the hand… and came into Damascus“.
Wouldn’t that have been obvious?
He was already blinded and He ended up in Damascus, so why not just say “I was blinded and then they took me to Damascus”…
And then why all the names in the Bible?
Genealogies upon genealogies. Yet not any mention of the age of the earth, or the existence of dinosaurs, or perhaps a bit more clarity in the book of Revelations would have been helpful, please.
However, this selection of details is surely not by chance.
You know, in fact, God’s emphasis on people, and their stories, actually remind me that people matter to God.
We matter to Him.
He thinks people are important. He remembers every name and thinks of every individuals as important.
He thinks the stories of people are important to know.
So here Paul is emphasising that he was led by the hand.
Why explain that detail? Why not just say he was brought to Damascus?
Well, maybe he wanted to highlight the fact that he was in such a precarious and humbling situation and that the people that were with him could have taken him to Damascus by other means. Or perhaps it’s meant to communicate the dire situation he was in…
Whatever the case was, here were the very people he was persecuting taking him somewhere.
They could have killed him. They could have lead him to the desert… He was blind after all.
This powerful figure was now blind and being taken by people who had every reason to dispose of him or at the very least be highly suspicious of him.
However these little details actually remind me of one beautiful truth.
Like the fact that I am actually 100% helpless before Christ came into my life. Or the fact that I could not lead myself to salvation. And that I could not go anywhere without a hand guiding me.
That you know what? He is actually the very Hand whom I had rebelled against leading me from death to life.
So I thank Him for these details.
For the fact that He didn’t push me. Or forced me. But that He took me by the hand and lead me.
He had every reason to not lead me. My sinful nature deserved death.
And yet, despite my predicament, he lead me gently to the arms of the one who held the world in His hands.
So I learn that these little details in the Bible often contain a message for us, if we would only pay attention.
We often read the Bible hoping to get the answer that we want. But we can’ approach the word of God like that. It’s not a “how to” guide. His word is active, and sharp. If we listen to Him when we read we can hear His voice. If we come to His word asking “Speak to me, Lord, I am here and listening”, rather than having a specific question in mind, we are more likely going to receive a word from Him.
Don’t miss the details when you read the Word.
God has not and will not waste any words. Every word is meant to bring us life, to guide us on.
Let’s pay attention, Friend, next time we encounter His Word, because we are meant to encounter Himself.