bored with the bible?

Do you find yourself bored when reading your Bible? I frequently talk to students (and adults, for that matter) who say they try to read their Bibles but just don’t feel they’re “getting anything out of it.”

So here’s a question for you: What do you think you’re supposed to get out of it?

Certainly, there are times when I read a passage of Scripture and I’m just flooded with this sense of comfort and God’s presence. At other times something jumps off the page and seems to slap me in the face, letting me know that something I was doing needs to stop. At other times I notice something I never have before that gets me all excited. I love it when the Bible awes, comforts, challenges, and inspires me.

But I don’t expect those feelings every day. And if you do, you might find yourself disappointed.

So why read the Bible, we don’t feel anything reading it?

Because God is there.

It’s His story, His words, His heart… and whenever we’re in the Word, the Spirit is there with us. That’s a pretty powerful thought, all by itself! But if it’s not enough motivation to set your alarm clock 15 minutes early, let me say this:

God makes Himself known through His Word. Every page of Scripture is about him, whether it uses his name or not. Every time he acts or speaks, it gives us a window into his character, his nature, and his values.

When I was a student, I don’t think I saw Scripture this way. I thought it was a book about me, really… what I should do, what I shouldn’t do, what I could learn from the lives of others. So then when I didn’t get anything out of it, I got frustrated and tended to think something was wrong, either with me or with the Bible. But I’ve come to think it was in my expectations. The Bible—like life—is not about me. It’s all about God.

When I read the story of David and Goliath, it’s not (contrary to Sunday School flannel board lessons, perhaps) primarily to teach me to be brave and bold. It’s also not primarily a history lesson about the second king of Israel. It’s a story of how a faithful God comes through for his nation using the most unlikely of people. Genesis 1 isn’t there primarily as a refute to evolution or to satisfy our curiosity for how the world came to exist. It’s there to show us that our God is a powerful, imaginative Creator who delights in beauty and has full control over the world because he made it.

Can you see how this changes the way we read the Bible?

It doesn’t mean there’s no application—there definitely is! But I don’t change things in my life based on “what this passage means to me”; I adjust my lifestyle based on how it lines up with the character of God. If I realize he’s holy, I see my need to strive for holiness. If I see his sovereignty at work, I grow in trust. When I read all that he is willing to give and do to bring me to himself, my love for him swells.

But don’t take my word for it… try it for yourself this week! I dare you to begin every day going through a chapter or two of Scripture. As you read, note everything the passage shows you about who God is, what He’s doing, and what He values. Then thank him for who He is, and ask yourself how your life would be different if you lived in light of that.