Acts 22:1-16. Having been given permission by the Roman tribune, Paul begins to speak to the mob that was intent on killing him just a little while ago. They have grown quiet as he stands and motions to them. Now he begins addressing them in Hebrew, which quiets them all the more. Paul tells them who he is, where he is from, how he was educated in the law, and how he was a zealous defender of the faith, even to the point of persecuting and killing the Christians. He then tells them, in detail, the story of his conversion on the road to Damascus, ending with his baptism by Ananias.

This is a story we all know, but the Jews Paul is speaking to did not know it. Clearly God wanted them to hear it, since the crowd has miraculously gone from a rioting mob to quietly listening in just a few minutes. It strikes me, though, that God wanted others to hear this story as well. Most likely, this was the first time Luke, the author of Acts, heard Paul's complete story. Comparing this account to the one in Acts Chapter 9, we can see that the details from Paul's side of the story are identical, so this speech by Paul must have been Luke's source material for Acts Chapter 9. (In Chapter 9, Luke also goes into detail about Ananias' experiences, so clearly he also spoke to Ananias, too, in order to record an accurate version of the story.) 

The last few years have brought me some unbelievable experiences, ones I never would have believed myself until they happened to me. Some of them have been wonderful messages that I am certain now have come from God Himself; others have been extremely painful and unbelievable realizations about the world I am living in, the danger surrounding us, and the fragility of many of my relationships. I struggled at first with what was happening, and I would often talk too soon about things. I tried several times to speak to people who were really not ready to hear or believe me, and that caused me great pain and a lot of division in my relationships. But God did eventually put people in my life to whom I can speak - people who have helped me immensely and whose advice I treasure,  and I learned to be patient (a little, at least! Patience is still not my strong suit!😅).

Some experiences, even if life-altering, are not meant to be spoken of right away. They are meant for me. I am to ponder, discern, and learn from them, not go blabbing about them to every one in my life. When the time comes for them to be brought into the open, it will be very obvious to me, and God will have all the people who He wants to hear and guide me in place at that time. This lesson is a hard one for me, I tend to talk too much, but God knows what is best and I don't have to tell my story to everyone right away.

Paul didn't tell Luke everything as soon as he met him, there were much bigger things to be done and Paul was humble enough to realize that his story, as amazing as it is, was to take a backseat until the time was right. My experiences are meant to propel me into thought and action - there are also much bigger things to be done right now than to tell my story to everyone I know. Eventually, if people need to hear it, the time will be right for me to tell it.