All of us have had those times — a day or two here and there, or even a season, when getting into reading the Bible is especially tough because it doesn't seem to be "feeding" us the way we are hoping.
I was having one of those days a couple of years ago. I was reading but it felt rather pointless. I wasn't drawn anywhere in particular and whatever I read was uninteresting, and especially didn't engage me emotionally. I was a little frustrated and tempted to set my Bible down and get on to the day's TO DO list. But then I had a thought (thank you, Holy Spirit, how you guide our ideas!) which led to a discovery that was confirmed later that day.
SCRIPTURE IS POWERFUL FOR OTHERS WHEN IT COMES THROUGH US!
I prayerfully read a Psalm and just asked God if what I was reading maybe wasn't for ME at all, at least that particular day. I asked, "Lord, is what I'm reading going to be an encouragement to someone else today?" Sure enough, several hours later I got an email from someone going through something tough. That Psalm came to my mind and I was able to type out an email response with some of those verses and it was a blessing to my friend!
That experience helped me keep more dedication to reading God's Word even when it wasn't seeming to have a lot to offer me personally. I have been on the receiving end of someone's Word-sharing emails many times and it has abundantly blessed me and helped me through some very hard days. I am so thankful God showed me how He can use my dry days to soften someone else's hard day.
READING GOD'S WORDS FROM DIFFERENT BIBLE TRANSLATIONS SPEAKS FRESH INSIGHTS TO US!
Another thing that helps me is to read a different Bible. We've got several Bibles around our house and several different translations. We also have several different children's Bibles. Alex met Jesus because of one of those Bibles. A newer one I've been reading with Carly has spoken profound new insights into me lately.
We can be sure of one thing. God's Word always does a work when it goes out. Remember the promise of that in Isaiah 55?
How about you?
Let's share some ideas folks! What has been helpful for you? How do you keep momentum with your daily time reading God's Word?
