I’m sure there are many more stories and and maybe even verses we could list that are pretty familiar to even the most casual Christians. How great that we know some of Scripture so very well! Sometimes, though, because of my familiarity with certain parts of the Word, I end up speed-reading and missing the chance to slow down, meditate on it, and pick up fresh little details that I may not have previously noticed. Just recently, this happened to me a couple different times. Look at these little details I found…

CREATION – One of the most familiar stories, I know! But when I was re-reading Adam and Eve’s story in my She Reads Truth Bible reading plan, I came across a detail that I promised I’d never noticed before. Have you thought about how the ground stayed healthy and fertile before the first rain ever fell on the earth? Well, the She Reads Truth prints materials using the Christians Standard Bible, which is a version I don’t usually read. So that probably helped this little detail stand out. Check this out: 

• These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation. At the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. But mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground. -Genesis 2:4-6

Mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground!?! WHAT! Never ever had I noticed that before. When I read it, I stopped immediately, and my mind started trying to imagine what that looked like. Mist just appearing and coming up out of the ground to keep the earth watered. How cool is that?! 

MOSES AND GOD – Once, in the book of Exodus, when Moses was meeting with God, Moses was asking for guidance and direction as he led the Israelite nation. He wanted to make sure that they were only going where God’s presence would accompany them. God promised to stay with Israel and told Moses He was pleased with him. Then, the incredible conversation between these two continued as Moses asked to see God’s glory. He said:

• Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. -Exodus 33:18-19a

God caused all of His goodness to pass in front of Moses. What does that even mean!? What a concept to consider. When reading and hearing the stories of Moses and his holy encounters with God, I easily remember the burning bush, when Moses took off his sandals to stand on the holy ground, and I remember when he went up onto the mountain to receive the 10 Commandments, but I’m not sure I’d ever noticed that Scripture says that all of God’s goodness passed in front of Moses. Wow!

Sometimes the tiny little details we might miss in the Word aren’t necessarily life-changing. But sometimes, they might be. A detail about mist coming up from the ground to water the earth probably won’t be spiritually transformational. However, noticing something new is the best reminder that God’s Word is living and active. It never turns stale. No matter how many times you may have read one certain story or verse, you should never shy away from reading it again. There might be something brand new for you to discover, whether it’s an obscure little detail or a spiritual principle that you’d never previously considered. 

Don’t stop reading your Bible! Slow down when you open the pages of God’s Word, search for things you haven’t noticed before, and let God feed your soul. He surely will!