Recently, God began to challenge me about being diligent in my study
of His Word. I had my regular daily Bible reading I was doing, and I just
recently had begun my Bible memory again, but I was not really doing anything
to actually study God’s Word.
The Lord began to direct me to do something I had not done in a long
time, and that was to select a book of the Bible and read it through daily. In
doing this, I would become familiar with the book, and God would teach or
confirm what He had taught me every time I read it!
My first book to read daily was James, and I am currently reading
through Romans on a daily (or bi-daily) basis. James is a very practical book
for daily living in Christ Jesus, and Romans is… wow! Romans is such an amazing picture of God’s love, mercy, grace,
and sovereignty!
I find that when I read a book over and over, God begins to shed new
light on different areas and passages. I get so excited to think about how He
began to show me lessons that linked multiple passages together, and also how
He revealed the meaning of words or confusing passages without the use
of a concordance or commentary! When I read something I did not understand, I
would pray for wisdom and clarification, then read it again and continue on.
Sometimes it takes a day or two, sometimes a couple weeks, but God has always
clarified His Word through His Word. Isn’t that amazing?
I find that many times I tend to depend too highly on the resources
of other people to show me how to search out and through step-by-step directions,
understand God’s Word. But what God intended was for His Holy Spirit to
teach me about His Word through His Word. I’m not saying I should never
read inspirational or Bible study books, because many times they are wonderful
tools and give me great encouragement in my walk with the Lord. I should just
be careful to not allow them to shape the way I study and search out God’s Word
for myself.
I know I was guilty of thinking that I needed help to know how to
study God’s Word and to understand what He was teaching me. God has since shown
me that He indeed is all that I need in order to understand what He has written
to me. After all, one of my favorite verses says so!
“But seek ye first the kingdom
of God
How guilty I am of complicating my relationship with God! He makes
everything so simple, just seek after Him, rest patiently in His love, and
He’ll sort everything out in the end!
Hi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteSo glad you are posting again, when I first saw you had a blog (right after Camp) I came and looked at it, and then I kinda forgot about it : (
So now that you are posting again I'll have to remember to keep an eye out for it. : )
Have a wonderful and blessed week!
Thanks for the encouragement! I really needed it.