3 Encouragements for Struggling Bible Readers
You aren’t the only one struggling to read your Bible consistently.
On January 5th, 2020, my pastor asked that we write new year’s resolutions on cash-sized pieces of paper and keep them in our wallets. Typical resolutions focus on physical health and productivity, but I had my spiritual life in mind. I wrote consistency (in my faith) and discipline (in my time in the Bible) and I’ve carried it with me ever since.
At that point, I had just finished my first term at Waterloo, and I was overwhelmed with the workload. I only had time for school, church and CCF once a week. During all of this, it was a challenge to find time to spend in God’s word. These struggles went all the way back to my time in high school. I had been trying to read my Bible for years and it never really stuck.
A lot has changed in the two years since then and for the first time, I’ve been able to get regular, fruitful devos. My plan right now is five times a week: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Eventually, I want to get to that point where I am reading daily, having the right energy to experience God and finding joy in them. That’s where I was, and this is where I am at right now. But what’s changed?
What’s Changed?
My biggest pitfall was how often I skipped reading the Bible. If I didn’t want to or feel ready to hear from God, I would just skip them. If I somehow got the motivation, because a friend told me to or because my DG was keeping track, I would frequently ‘punt’ bible reading. Very rarely did those feelings come and when they didn’t, it was a responsibility that I had to fulfil, a burden that got in the way. My own lack of consistency meant that it was rare to have quality time with God.
I’ve learned to have a different mindset for spending time in the Word, as Bible reading is a necessary spiritual food and a privilege. The Word of God sustains life (Matthew 4:4). Through it, we understand the salvation brought through faith, growing us in grace and peace (2 Peter 1:2) and equipping us for all situations (2 Timothy 3:15–17). If you don’t feed your spiritual life it will starve (Amos 8:11), so strive to do devos in the same way you eat every day. Just like we need physical food to survive, we also need spiritual food the thrive.
By spending time in the Word, we also experience the blessing of his presence, where the fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11) (Psalm 21:6), security (Psalm 31:20) and blessing are found (Psalm 89:15). Christ is the ultimate prize in life (Philippians 3:8) and if we truly treasure God, we will want to and enjoy spending time with him (Matthew 6:21).
The Difference Maker
My change in attitude has led to a different approach to this discipline. I now know that I have the privilege of hearing the creator of the universe and experiencing Him speaking to me. And at first, it didn’t feel meaningful because I couldn’t hear God, and I wasn’t getting anything out of reading. But as my pastor says: “Quantity time leads to quality time.” And the more I invested, the more I was rewarded. Additionally, because it is God speaking to me, it’s not by my power, knowledge, or focus that I hear Him. It doesn’t matter if I’m super tired or if I have a lot of work to do or even if I can do a full, in-depth analysis. It’s a trust exercise that always works. If I give time to God regardless of how I feel, I trust that He will make use of it, and He does.
When God reveals Himself to me, I grow in love, and it changes how I live. He’s always there; He’s always ready to speak with me, I just need to go converse with Him and be ready to hear. When I hear God, it’s awesome, I’m experiencing the blessing of His presence and understanding who He is. And through knowing Him, I have been sanctified, growing in love for Him, lessening my love for sin and changing how I live. By enjoying time with the creator, I am doing what I am made to do on this Earth and it is fulfilling.
Even though I’ve experienced the joys of his presence, there are times where I struggle. But because I’ve established the discipline, it’s a foundation that I can rely on. A friend from CCF put it this way: “It’s setting up a pillar such that when something happens you have an automatic response”. There’s a comic of discipline as a buff dude that picks you up and carries you where you need to go. Me feeling like a corpse doesn’t change the fact that I have a schedule in place. Would you cancel spending time with your significant other just because you didn’t feel like it? Reading the bible regardless of circumstance has allowed me to experience God’s presence so much more than if I had only gone to the Word when I ‘felt like it’.
Encouragements
That being said, it’s been a hard fight to get where I am now. Here are three personal encouragements that I found useful on my journey.
1) It’s God who makes it work, not me
I’ll be honest, I think it’s God who has been using the time that I give to Him and taking it way further than I could ever do on my own. There is only so much I can do before it’s clear that this is God at work in me. All I do is submit time to Him, pray and reflect in His Word, and He carries it so much further. He is the one that has been working to allow me to hear Him more, experience joy from this and grow consistently in all these things. Despite the sin and setbacks on the journey, God is loving and merciful. Even though I fail, He continues to work to bring me nearer to Him.
2) Avoid comparing yourself to others
I know what it’s like to think, ‘Damn, I’m not good enough.’ It’s easy to say to yourself, ‘this guy is doing it; he’s reading his bible every single day, mentoring others, excelling academically and is so much better than me’. I have a close friend like that. He hasn’t missed a day of reading the bible in almost 3 years and it’s easy to look at him and be unhappy about where I am. But I remind myself of the progress that I’ve made, how far I’ve come and the strides I’ve taken from where I started. For the people who are discouraged: improve at your own pace, don’t look to the best example in your life and let it stop you from trying to get better.
3) You won’t regret investing in your relationship with God
That being said, it’s not always easy. There are times where I’m sitting there saying, “I’m too tired; there is so much work to do and I’m completely overwhelmed. I don’t want to do devos right now.” Whenever I struggle with that, a friend would remind me: “Ask God for strength and to speak to you in meaningful ways; you will not regret it”. This is probably the biggest takeaway, that you will not regret giving time to God and hearing from Him.
From a utilitarian perspective, would I do the thing that has a 50% chance of getting me tilted (like losing a solo queue game) or would I do what has guaranteed blessings? Never have I read the Bible, heard from God, and thought: “Man, that was a waste of time. I wish I didn’t do that”. When, despite my efforts, I don’t hear from God, I maintain the foundation that will lead me to future quality time with Him. Don’t make the same mistake as I did and wait for the feelings to come.
Conclusion (TL;DR)
1 Timothy 4:10 says: That is why we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. I encourage you to give to God what He deserves as the true treasure in this world. Spending time in His word is a necessity and blessing which will allow you to experience His presence, grow in love for Him and change how you live. The journey is difficult. Place your hope in the living God. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
