Yesterday, I spent the day with a group of pastors conducting oral exams for two people preparing for ordination. Time and again, I heard people testifying to the strength and encouragement they’d received through the daily habit of Bible reading. If you’d been in the room, you couldn’t help but come away with a desire to make more time for the Scriptures. The problem is that we often give up before we see the harvest that a daily investment can make in our lives. Let me encourage you with what God accomplishes in the lives of those who seek Him regularly in His Word.
1. It’s how God guides you
We make hundreds of little decisions every day. With most of them, we respond from instinct. If it’s important enough, we might pray about the decision. But God’s Word is the main way that He seeks to guide us.
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Trusting that your instincts are good or offering a prayer and hoping that God will compensate for your lack of wisdom isn’t what God wants for His people. Through daily reading, we build up an inventory of stories and truths that reveal what God’s like and how He’s designed us. It’s this internal library of truth that God intends to guide our decisions.
2. It’s what God uses to change you
You probably wouldn’t have ever become a Christian if you weren’t interested in growing and changing into the person God calls you to be. One of the incredible gifts of salvation is that God helps to change us. We’re not alone in the process of growth. But we can forget that the Bible is the main means by which God works in our lives.
In John 17:17, Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
If you leave your Bible on the shelf, you’re avoiding one of the main ways that God has chosen to help transform you.
3. It can get past all of your defences
We’re all skilled in hiding our weaknesses and deflecting people’s criticism. We justify our sins and explain away our faults. But God has designed the Bible in a way that can cut through all of that.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
When we read the Bible, it allows God to perform the heart surgery that we need to deal with what’s holding us back.
4. It deals with your stubbornness
Ever hear a sermon that was funny, relevant, and timely, but which still left you feeling empty? There were lots of tips and applications, but nothing seemed to really move you. We need God’s Word to deal with our stubbornness – people’s thoughts and ideas aren’t enough.
In Jeremiah 23:28, God draws a comparison between the prophets who just tell you what’s on their mind and those who tell you what He says. The former are like straw and the latter like wheat. They might look similar, but the nourishment is completely different. To spell that out, it says in the next verse, “Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
If you just need some life hacks, maybe a Christian self-help book will do. But if you realize that your problems go deeper than that, you need something stronger, something more powerful. When you invest in daily Bible reading, you’re taking a blow torch to the impurities in your life and a sledgehammer to the hardhearted attitudes that get in the way of your growth.
Most people struggle with Bible reading, but don’t give up! There’s nothing like its power to shape you into the person God created you to be.
Need some practical ideas? Check out my article here: 3 Things You Need to Succeed in Bible Reading
In awe of Him,
Paul
