The Difficulty with Bible Reading

I was reading a post by Tim Challies on his blog, Challies.com, about personal bible reading. He shared an ugly truth that many Bible study leaders and gurus fail to share. Specifically, that the difficulty with Bible reading is that sometimes it is difficult. Chaillies put it this way…
 

Now I’d like to make a rather practical observation. A general desire to know and to study the Bible does not necessarily mean that we will always be overflowing with enthusiasm to do so. When we say that we desire to study the Bible we can mean two things. We can mean that we spring out of bed in the morning eager to rush to a comfortable chair and spend some time drinking in the Word of God. Though I think all Christians long to be like this, the sad fact is that very few are. The reason I am writing these words today is that I have felt little of this enthusiasm lately. I’ve found myself dreading times in the Word far more than I’ve eager anticipated them. And I hate this, I hate my lack of interest, my lack of passion and desire. And yet it seems to be where I am right now.

 

In my 25 years of reading daily, I have had more days than I care to admit where I just pushed through my Bible reading and I don’t regret it. When I was first compelled to read the Bible the motivating feeling was a sense of “should.” That’s not entirely a bad thing. It took a while for that to turn into desire. At first, I couldn’t find time to read and then as my interest and knowledge grew I felt at times as if I could not find enough time to read. I met a guitarist recently for a Christian Band named Last Hour. His name is Cliff Pennington. He sent me an email about reading the word of God that expresses that same shift. With his permission I am quoting his email.
 

You know we were talking about God’s Word and trying to get kids to read it. If we can just get them to read it! I was going to say that for me personally, the thing that helped me the most, was the day that God helped me to realize that His word is not a burdon. His instruction is not restrictive. Basically, The Bible is not a “RULE” book. It’s the key to life, the abundant life, that Jesus promised us. Living by it’s teachings and focusing on it’s truths and principles is really what sets us free and helps us to begin living… Truely living. I’m one of those people who always used to use the excuse that I just “hate” to read but once I gave in to the Master’s will and did it anyway, He spoke to me through it. Now I can’t read the Bible enough or even books by other people about the Bible or what they’ve learned from it. Now all of the sudden I’ve read books by C.S. Lewis, John McArthur, Ravi Zacharias, Less Strobel, J.I. Paker, Bro. Andrew, Alex McFarland, and many more. I just can’t explain in words the joy I’ve received from God through His word and I want to convey that to everyone just like you do. The world teaches us that by constricting ourselves in our lives to God’s word that we are limiting the joys we can have in life. I say that God created us; knows us better than we know ourselves… He should therefore understand how to make us happy. Why shouldn’t He? He’s our father… He’s tied His happiness to our hapiness. The limits presented in His word simply guide us down a path that leads us to ulimate “true” happiness. The world only presents to us “false” happiness that never lasts. True happiness, in God’s love through His perfect guidance, will never end.

 

Mindset has a lot to do with how hard or easy it is to get into the Word. We have a lot of choice around mindset. It’s good to be reminded by Cliff about the pure joy it should be that we get to read God’s Word, not that we “have” to read it. It’s good to read things like Chris’s quote and it’s good to be in fellowship with other believers reading because it can help inspire us when we are going through one of those low periods, such as the one that Tim Challies is in right now.
 
So, I just want you to realize that if you are struggling right now with reading, what a lot of people don’t tell you is that this is not unusual. Seasoned Christians with an amazing love of the Lord go through times where reading is just inglorious tough work. Those times pass though and I would urge you to persevere. Do your reading and pursue study diligently.
 
Lastly, I would encourage you to also not judge the value of your Bible reading based upon your experience of your actual reading time. In our culture, immediate gratification has come to drive many of our expectations. Yet, you are not going to necessarily have some epiphany or visionary insight every time you read the Word. I first learned this from a wise old monk. The trappist monk, Basil Pennington, who has written and taught extensively on centering prayer, once said to a group of students I was retreating with that we shouldn’t judge our prayer based upon the experience of the prayer time. We should instead judge the value of our prayer based on how our lives were transformed over a season of prayer. He said that we should wait and see if we are treating our family with more kindness. Are we slow to react angrily? Are we more loving? The wisdom of his words are equally true for other spiritual disciplines, such as, bible reading. The really value is not in the immediate experience but rather instead, in the transformation God affects in you over time.
 
Stick with it. Enjoy it. Revel in it. Blessings on your reading
 

3 thoughts on “The Difficulty with Bible Reading”

  1. You make a really great point that I had not actively considered before. When we read other books, we can expect some instant gratification–facts and how-to answers from nonfiction, or from fiction, a great story that’s easily enjoyed. But the pleasures of reading the Bible surface over time through personal transformations. When I look back to ten years ago, I wince at how little I understood then. Very little that I learned about faith and grace and love happened overnight. What if I put even more effort into studying God’s word? How much transformation will happen over the NEXT ten years?

  2. I feel that many start out with enthusiasm, then realize that they may never understand the message of God. I have felt like this, but I did stick with it, now the bible reading time I spent is the best time of my day. I would encourage all to hang in there. The more you read, they better you will begin to understand as long as you rely upon the holy spirit for guidance. For the new reader, try asking God for understanding before each time you read, it can’t hurt, and I really believe it will help. i pray that every one who asks God for wisdom will receive wisdom that comes from him alone. God bless all who are seeking my savior Jesus Christ.

  3. Perseverance is absolutely key. Thank you for encouraging readers. Often times beginner bible readers are reading out of a sense of “I should read the Bible.” It takes some fortitude to get to a place of desire for and love of reading the word. I am not sure people always get that when they start. So, I want to echo your encouragement to hang in there. Reading with other people by taking a Sunday school class or being a part of a bible study can help keep beginning readers motivated. Were you in a class or group that helped you?

    Thanks for commenting.

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