Be Still - January 23, 2023

Luke 1: 13-15 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” (NIV)

The things that make God dear to us are not so much His great big blessings as the tiny things, because they show His amazing intimacy with us; He knows every detail of our individual lives.*

God has many attributes that he employs on our behalf. One of those attributes that has come to mean a lot to me is not spelled out specifically in scripture but it is embedded in stories like this one. That attribute is his attention to detail. From creation of the world to the color scheme in the temple to my personal preferences, God is not too big or too busy or too powerful to provide us with the grace notes of life. Sometimes, when I am too overwhelmed by his goodness to itemize my blessings, I just say, “Thank you, God, for your attention to detail.”

In the case of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, God showed off on a grand scale as well as in a small, personal way. As another writer puts it: “While God unfolded his purpose for the world . . . he was doing something tender and gracious for Elizabeth and her husband.”* This couple, who had given up on becoming parents, were going to have a son who would be a joy and a delight to them – what more could they ask for? – but he was also part of God’s much bigger plans for saving the world. 

How like God to love the individual while he is loving the world.

The one who created the universe places infinite value on you. He considers you a treasure worthy of his personal attention and sacrifice.*