Everything that is written in the Bible is something God WANTS us to know.

At first glance, that doesn’t seem like a big thought, but it totally is. I dismissed it at first but, the longer I thought about it, the more it blew me away.

I never even considered it before reading the book of Revelation but then this one verse jumped out at me. (**But first, if you’ve never read Revelation, this verse will sound incredibly strange. A little context: The book of Revelation is written by John. It’s a documentation of a vision that God gave him.**) The verse says:

“When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. But a voice from Heaven called to me: ‘Keep secret what the seven thunders said. Do not write it down.‘”

Revelation 10:4 NLT 1996

My first reaction was that I couldn’t get past wanting to know what the seven thunders said. I was obsessed.

My second reaction was a little more mature. Once I got past wanting to know what the seven thunders said, I realized something HUGE. If God specifically told John NOT to write something down, that means he could’ve stopped John from writing other things, too. But he didn’t. That means that everything that IS written down in the Bible is something that God DOES want us to know and read.

EVERYTHING.

Why is that exciting? Because that means every word has special meaning and purpose for us. Every. Single. Word.

It has to or God would have kept it secret along with “the message of the seven thunders” (which I’m SOOOOOO going to ask God about when I get to Heaven, by the way).

Think about it this way: If someone you loved died but, before they passed they wrote you a letter. Knowing that you wouldn’t read it until after they were gone, they would only put the most essential, YOU specific thoughts into that letter, right? That’s what the Bible is. It’s a letter TO US from God. And I believe that every word that made it into that book is for me so I’m going to read it.

What about you?

Prayer: Dear Lord, there’s some crazy stuff in some parts of your book – especially in Revelation. But, I believe that you wrote this book with all of us in mind. Please help me have a deeper understanding of you every time I read your words. Replace my confusion with clarity. Amen.

Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash