Do you read your Bible regularly and still feel like God is far away from your day-to-day life? Are you reading through Scripture like you are “supposed to” but the words seem sometimes like a foreign language? Do you ask yourself, “How am I supposed to understand any of this without someone showing me what it all means?”
While questions like these can make us feel alone in this great big world and perhaps make us feel like we must not be a very good Christian, the reality is you are feeling something shared by countless others.
A quick search of the internet shows there are many thousands of Bible reading plans. Plans designed to help us build good habits and perhaps take us down smaller paths to a bigger understanding.
This shows us that we are indeed not alone in how we feel. At least armed with this knowledge we don’t feel alone. But the bigger questions are why am I feeling this way and what can I do about it?
The concern isn’t about right or wrong or being a “better” Christian. Your walk with God is a personal relationship between you and Him. Most often this concern comes from how we are approaching our Bible reading. We generally apply our traditional learning methods to reading the Bible without understanding how and why the Bible was written. Once you gain a better understanding of how the Bile was written and why it even exists – you can begin a journey much closer with God as you begin to understand His ways.
Let’s take a look at the common approaches to Bible reading and explore why they may be leaving us feeling dry.
Bible Reading as a Task
Reading plans are a good way to begin as they build habits of regular study, but often we don’t move beyond this phase. Part of the problem with reading plans is they are task oriented. They have a start and a finish. They drive us to seek completion rather than understanding. Moving beyond using a reading plan to an actual enjoyment of studying the Bible is where you begin to find the closeness with God. Similar to making a new friend, as you know more about them they become closer friends. More time with them and more time getting to know them draws them closer. A relationship with God works the same way. Rather than reading the Bible as a task, learn to read it as a letter from Him to you. Discover the wisdom, love and guidance each passage opens up to you. The Bible is for you, you are the subject. Find yourself in its pages and God will be there with you.
Reading it Like a Text Book
In school we are taught from textbooks. Textbooks are written to impart information to us but then it remains up to us to figure out how to use that information. This is commonly known as ‘Western Style” writing. Our Bible is written in “Eastern Style” writing. A way of writing that we aren’t accustomed to. This is often the culprit behind our lack of understanding. We are reading the events of the Bible as if they are written in chronological order.
Eastern style writing is not a timeline of facts it is written to be experiential. It seeks to draw the reader into the story and become a part of it. We remember experiences far better than what we read. This is why the Bible is written this way – we are supposed to be part of the story not reading from a distance. By learning to place ourselves into the story and seek the wisdom the story is trying to relay to us, we gain a better appreciation for the event and we learn how to pattern our lives to be closer to God.
Information vs. Transformation
Reading the Bible in traditional western style means we are filling our minds with information when what we are seeking is transformation. Often, we read and walk away no different than when we started. If the Bible is indeed alive then it speaks to us with fresh messages each time we read it. When we walk away without an understanding of what we read, it leaves us feeling empty and dry.
Start by asking yourself, “why did God believe this passage was so important so as to capture it thousands of years ago for me to read today?” We know God doesn’t make mistakes and He never wastes anything. When we apply this concept to our Bible reading it should cause us to ask this question then seek out the answer. There is a reason for everything in Scripture so don’t be in such a hurry to move to the next passage having not understood the one before you!
Seeking Relevance Without Understanding
As Christians we are taught the Bible is God’s letter to us. We are taught to read and study it daily. After we spend time reading it, especially the so-called difficult passages, often we don’t see why we need to know this. Afterall, why should I care about something that happened to somebody I don’t know thousands of years ago?
This is a common question. Why is it important and why should you care? Yes, it is God’s word, and it is our duty to read and get through it, but with this as our approach is it any wonder we don’t see the relevance to our life?
The missing element has to do with your approach. The hope is that if you read enough something will finally set in, yet we continue to read the same way over and over. We are looking for how the passage applies to us without first understanding what it says. Simply reading a passage without understanding it with a desire to finish it means we don’t let the passage speak to us where we are.
Rather than simply reading with a goal of finishing, read instead with a goal of understanding it. There are many really good bible commentaries and books written to help. Be careful though because in them you are reading how somebody else was inspired by the passage. Use it to guide you but not an absolute meaning. Let scripture speak to you by being open to hearing what it says. What you imagine in your mind as you read and unpack the words.
Favoring Familiar Passages
We tend to read the Bible with a goal of completion. In doing so, we often skim over passages we can’t relate to and favor passages we have heard before. Perhaps in Sunday School or a sermon we look at a passage and recall “oh yeah, this means that” but in doing so you are closing your mind to the opportunity for the passage to speak to you. By reading familiar passages and applying a meaning from some other time you aren’t getting a fresh message from it. The Bible is alive and if alive it speaks anew, not some old message from time past – new fresh inspiration made just for you where you are at that moment in life and your Christian walk.
These are some of the ways approaching scripture can make a difference, there are many more. If you are feeling like God is far away from you, start by looking at the path you are walking. Did you leave Him behind somewhere? Did you choose a path He won’t walk with you but will allow you to walk it so you can see Him better?
Bible reading is also known as a devotion. This means to be devoted to it. Like a best friend you want to spend time with getting to know better. Not a task or a requirement. Your mindset really matters. We find the Bible talking about your heart. If your heart is not into it, you won’t find what you are looking for. God wants to spend time with you; do you want to spend time with Him?
We serve an amazing God. We don’t serve a taskmaster or rule-maker. Our time and our devotion should reflect that. Being faithful in our Bible reading helps, being faithful to seeking God’s message to you will take you to new depths in your relationship with Him. There are no limits and no timelines to a relationship with God – He can handle any level of relationship you desire with Him.
Continue to seek Him. He is always there. He has amazing things to reveal to you as you draw closer to Him.
