Look again

When God's Word feels empty

Becoming disenchanted with God's Word is nothing new. Back in the Old Testament (when all they had was the first five books of the Bible), God's people often grew tired and bored with it. Instead of Deuteronomy 6 verses six to nine-ing it, they became curious and interested in what the people around them were doing.

God knew this about them

God gave His people His Word when they were poor and before they had a place of their own. Fresh out of captivity and 40 years of wandering the desert, God spared nothing at preparing them for the blessed time ahead.

But He also knew their hearts and pleaded with them, "When you have eaten your fill, praise the LORD your God for the good land He has given you. But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty You do not forget the LORD your God and disobey His commands, regulations, and laws." Deuteronomy 8:10-11

After God had helped the Israelites conquer Canaan and become secure and prosperous, it did not take long for the people to go their own way. They soon adopted the pagan customs around them, worshiping other gods.

We have the same problem today.

We are extremely privileged to have the entire Word of God in our hands today. God tells us that His Word is "full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires." Hebrews 4:12. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do." But still ...

We seek elsewhere

Our hearts are so prone to wander.

Just like the Israelites, we easily seek spiritual experiences outside of God's plan. We either get bored of the Bible, and stop feeling like we are being fed and nurtured by it or we quit reading and studying it before we notice any changes. Kind of like when we take vitamins, medicine or eat healthy food. Once we start feeling better, we start thinking we don't need those things anymore. And we turn to other things for that "new" feeling. Or we feel like it's not making a difference and so we quit and look for another thing to try. And Satan, the great "Angel of Light" already has plenty of ideas and counterfeits. Many of them sound right, feel right. And so we take the bait often feeling at first that it's helping us grow stronger in our faith.

Just read Joshua - Malachi to see how Israel did the same thing over and over again and the heartbreaking results.

How do we stay hungry for God's Word?

God's Word is one of the most spiritual things we have! If you are craving a spiritual experience you can read the words directly from the heart of God Himself! As you open it's pages, ask yourself, "what can I discover about the heart of God today?" And God bumps up the spirituality of it all by giving us none other than His very own living Spirit! who Jesus says is "better" for us than His own physical, human existence. Jesus as a person, yet fully God can only be in one place at one time. His Holy Spirit, also FULLY God, can live and work in an infinite number of places...and God has appointed Him to live inside of us! (John 14:16-17, Romans 8:9-11, 1 John 3:24). Jesus tells us that Holy Spirit will comfort us, help us, change us, give us power, reveal truth and teach us what God's Word means. (John 16:5-15, 2 Corinthians 3:18) So every time you read the Bible, simply open yourself up to the Holy Spirit's work, connect to Him, He is right there, fully alive, fully active, fully God.

How much more spiritual do you want to get?

Do we ever need "breaks" from the Bible?

Ask God. Seriously. In my own life, I've needed time to process all that I've read. You can call that meditating. Meditating on God's Word is very good. It can allow the Holy Spirit to break down all the truth and nutrients we have and help us to absorb it and use it. If we just absorb it, that is good, but what God really wants is for us to use it...put it into practice...obey it...for His glory and for the blessing of others. We will find that as we use it, we will quickly need to be replenished with more nutrients. God's Word doesn't just teach us new things. It is active, living engagement with our Father. I can't imagine a day or a week where I don't need that.

Don't become a Pharisee

Pharisees were obsessed with God's laws but without the heart and Spirit of God. It naturally became just a list of rules that they in their human flesh felt the need to add to. We can easily become a Pharisee when we study the Bible and only use our logic and reasoning. This leads to arrogance and spiritual constipation. You need the wine or living water; the Spirit of God, to help you understand God's heart behind it and to add life and "flow" to it. You get constipated on just bread.

Look again

In my life, when I have taken breaks from Bible reading, it's always led to a time of dryness. I reason to myself, I know I should read the Bible, but it just doesn't seem like it will help in any way. I feel like I already know what it says...

But God, oh God, in His grace and mercy, doesn't throw me away or leave me...He has ALWAYS nudged, whispered...always quietly, always very subtle, with wild eyes and a knowing smile..."Look again..."

Read: Psalm 119