Developing a Vibrant Relationship with the Bible
One of the most transformational things we can do is build a real, vibrant relationship with the word of God. Many Christians struggle with reading the Bible, finding it boring or dry, but it is possible to turn that into something glorious—like God speaking directly to you every day.
Be Honest About Your Current Relationship
“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22 NKJV)
I want you to be honest—not religious. If you are reading the Bible and finding it boring, do not pretend. Go to God and say Lord I find this really boring I am struggling. He knows it anyway—he is not surprised or hurt. God is never disillusioned about you because he has no illusions about you in the first place. He sees everything knows everything. Just be honest with him and he will help you appreciate those things. The best test to discern where you are in your relationship with God is to look back at the last 24 hours and see how much time you actually spent reading the Bible. Look back at the last seven days but do not count Sunday. How much time did you actually spend reading God’s word? None of this is to condemn us but to actually look and understand where we are. We can con ourselves con others. The Bible says be doers of the word not hearers deceiving your own self. We move into self-deception when we have beliefs that do not have corresponding actions.
Get a Vision from God
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 NKJV)
I want you to go on a journey and allow God to give you a completely other vision. Let me set up my vision to you. I believe God wants us to have a relationship with this book that is thrilling that is glorious. If you read about somebody like Smith Wigglesworth he would never go more than about 15 minutes without reading the Bible. He would sit down at every meal and say let us just take a moment and see what father is saying. He had that relationship that this is actually God speaking to him. Imagine a relationship with the Bible where you read it and you are thrilled. It says in the song of Solomon my heart leapt when I heard the voice of the one I loved. Psalm one speaks about the man his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. David said in Psalm 119 how I love your word it is my meditation all the day. Jeremiah 15 16 your words were found and I did eat them your word was the joy and the rejoicing of my life. Imagine the most addictive crazy substance food drink whatever illicit substance you have ever tried in your life that you absolutely love. Imagine if you had a relationship with the Bible where you absolutely love it. You love sitting down and reading for half an hour an hour great. You love studying you love walking the floor maybe just driving your car and quoting God’s word and meeting God in his word new love unpacking it picking it apart. Great to be there with friends where the thing you want to do more than anything else on planet Earth is to talk about the word of God what does this mean what does this mean how would this relate to that. God wants you to have that relationship. The word of God is not a book about God but it is God speaking to you.
Go on a Journey to Form Habits
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV)
I want to encourage you to go on a journey maybe give yourself a few weeks or a few months and say if for the rest of my life I want to step into that vision then it is okay that I spend a few weeks or months developing those habits forming new habits creating space and time assembling the resources I need recalibrating my relationship with the Bible. It is possible to do this in a few moments but it might behoove you to spend a few days doing this. Why not go on a journey where you spend some time and allow God to give you a vision of what that really could what should look like. The kind of thing where you can look in your own imagination think yeah like that is so cool this is how I am going to be I am going to have this romance with this book with the God who wrote it. Imagine a teenage girl or boy getting a text message from somebody they are in love with. It is just information it is bits it is ones and zeros flying over the ether but when they get that message they do not look at it and go this is on WhatsApp or iMessage or it is an email or Snapchat they hear the heart the heart leaps with joy or the heart breaks if the message was not good. They are having relational communication with a person through that message. That is what this is. That is how God wants you to relate to that. Read it like a theologian read it like a lovesick teenager and you will get more of what God is actually trying to say to you. If it is worth stepping into creating those lifelong habits for the rest of my life then it is okay that I spend a few weeks or months forming those habits.
Practical Steps to Build the Relationship
“The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63 NKJV)
I will share some practicals in coming teachings but go over those three steps. Be honest take stock take inventory look at where you are actually walking right now. Go on a journey with God go on a journey with God’s word. Hebrews 4 12 says the word of God is alive it is living it is powerful it is sharper than any two edged sword and it will bless you.
Let that truth settle in your spirit.
Selah.
Scriptures for Further Study: James 1:22, Psalm 37:4, Hebrews 4:12, John 6:63, Psalm 1:2, Psalm 119:97, Jeremiah 15:16, Song of Solomon 2:3, Matthew 4:4, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Psalm 119:105, Joshua 1:8, Romans 10:17, Psalm 119:11, Deuteronomy 8:3, Colossians 3:16, Ephesians 6:17, 1 Peter 1:23, Isaiah 55:11, Acts 17:11, Psalm 119:130, Luke 24:32, John 5:39, Romans 15:4, 2 Peter 1:19
10 Questions for Reflection:
- What is my current relationship with the Bible really like?
- How honest am I with God about finding the Bible boring?
- Where have I deceived myself about reading the Bible?
- What vision does God want to give me for his word?
- How can I develop a thrilling relationship with the Bible?
- What habits do I need to form for lifelong Bible reading?
- How does the Bible become God speaking to me?
- Where do I need to recalibrate my approach to God’s word?
- What resources will help me build this relationship?
- How can I turn dry reading into glorious encounter?
