I’m a self proclaimed ADHD’er who stood on my head on the couch memorizing all my verses in Christian school among other crazy nonsensical approaches to learning. My attention span is the size of a gnat and so I have to find tools and tricks of the trade to keep myself engaged. So even in my study of the Bible I’ve learned some things that help me stay focused and engaged for the long haul.
And no, I don’t stand on my head anymore. I’d kill myself if I did that. Don’t ask me how I know. Okay, I’ll tell you. When our son was in gymnastics 15 years ago I tried to show him how to do a hand stand against the wall and didn’t realize I had zero arm strength and landed on my head and hurt my neck. Not kidding. So add 15 years and about 20 pounds and you believe me when I say I’d die. Okay, glad we have that cleared up.
For my personal Bible reading I choose to stay plugged into a women’s Bible Study either personally or with a group. I read the Bible for myself and am particularly drawn to Isaiah and Psalms but I typically work through a guided Bible Study of some kind. I like the structure it provides.
Starting with a birds eye view of the book of the Bible I’m studying helps me go into it with better understanding and helps me stay in that book. Read Scripture is an awesome resource. Most all clips are under 10 minutes long and give an accurate biblical overview. I just sent the Job clip (embedded below) to our study group that will soon be starting the book of Job Bible Study by Lisa Harper. We’ll view this on our own ahead of time and go into the study having that little bit of overview knowledge before we start.
Another additional help is reading the book of the Bible from the Message. I don’t use the Message as my regular Bible but for my introduction to the big picture idea I absolutely love the Message. Often times I will print off the scripture in the Message for our group and we mark, color, circle it up and make notes in the margin of our pages as our reference sheet. I like it because it’s easier to read. My main overall goal in scripture reading is to know and love God more and to let his word change me. So I want to understand what I’m reading.
Lastly the thing that helps me stay engaged in God’s Word is understanding the benefits of his word in my life. I stumbled upon a gold mine of a chapter filled with descriptions and benefits of God’s word. When I read these verses I leave in astonishment as to why I don’t spend more time in his word than I do. With almost every Bible Study I lead we make room in the first session to look at sections of Psalm 119 to remind us of why we’re doing what we’re doing.
The last thing I want to do is foster a perpetual Bible Study environment that produces spiritual zombies. Understanding the value of what we are doing keeps our hearts alive and desiring more. And it’s not a bad thing to be motivated by the results and fringe benefits of God’s Word. Sometimes we think that’s selfish but I don’t believe it is. It’s getting excited about the things God has told us and shows we believe what he says is true.
Here’s just a few examples of the description and/0r benefits of God’s Word based from selections of Psalm 119:
- wonderful, gives light, imparts understanding
- delight
- makes us walk in wide places
- life-preserver
- firmly fixed
- commands are sure
- life giving
- no limit in perfection
- get understanding
- makes me wise
- sweet
- lamp and light
- my heritage
- joy of my heart
You guys this is just a small sampling. There’s so much more! Isn’t this amazing?! God’s word is all of the above and more. That blows my mind.
Maybe you’re in a situation where you need understanding. Or you feel so low that you feel like you’re dying. You need a rescue – a life preserver. Possibly everything around you is unsure and you need stability in your life. Or you need direction and wide places to walk in. I don’t want to sound trite but if we believe God’s word is true then we’ll be encouraged by the fact that God’s word has exactly what we need for all these things and more. Rest in this! Let it encourage you to keep finding treasure of truth in God’s word.
I am praying for you – no, really I am. I am praying that you will consider picking up God’s word and treasuring it in a profound way. Maybe you need to print that list of benefits and keep it close by as a reminder. I will post the document under “files” on the life is a bowl of wedgies facebook page if you’d like to print it for yourself. Because I did this for my bible study group recently and wanted them to find the benefits for themselves I have blanks and only a few filled in as samples. But that’s half the fun – reading the verses to see what they say about themselves!
May we taste the sweetness of God’s word today and every day there after.
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