Abiding: Reading God’s Word in the Busyness

In church, we hear that we need to read God’s word daily. Personally, this was interpreted as

making time for a touchpoint with God. Like a multivitamin, we take our daily dose every day.

When that was the perspective, we take the vitamin, and then continue to eat a cheeseburger,

etc. during the day.

When the busyness comes up in many Christians’ lives, one of the first things to decrease to

make more time is God’s Word. We add in an event, we add in a new family board game, we

add in commitments. We only have 24 hours each day, and when we add something in, we will

have to reduce something elsewhere. Often this results in a reduction of reading in God’s Word.

We revert to the multivitamin. Instead of reading for an hour, or longer, we find we have 5

minutes here, or 10 there.

What does this do to a Christian who is truly trying to abide in Christ?

Simply put, you can’t abide in the Lord without His Word. God’s Word is RICH and can remind

us of the RICHes in our lives. (Col 3).

RICH:

 God’s Word reminds us that others have gone through what we have (Remembrance)

 God’s Word reminds us who we are (Identity)

 God’s Word reminds us of God’s presence (Comfort)

 God’s Word reminds us of His promises (Hope)

As spoken in Psalm 119, As we hide his Word away in our hearts we become wiser, and step

more into Godliness. It is like looking into a mirror (James 1:23-25) we remember who we are

through it. Discussing how being in the Word shows us who we are in Christ.

Discuss 119: 9-16:

Spend time in the Word. Read it slowly, read the entirety of the chapter/book. Read it out loud,

read it with a friend/partner, read prayerfully, read in worship. As we do this, it will lead us to that

RICH pneumonic. We will Remember that others have gone through what we have prior to us

(Remembrance), we remember Who we are (identity), we remember God’s Presence (comfort),

and we are reminded of His Promises (Hope).

We have the Word at our fingertips, and when we don’t take the time partake in it, to abide

deeply in His RICHes, we lose sight of reality. It produces remorse as we don’t live in his

abundant life. Contrast, when we sit in His Word, we get this daily cleansing/sanctification in our

life as we remember who we are. We can’t be dependent upon God without knowing God’s

word.

What about these Christian books that quote scripture, or watching a show like the

Chosen, isn’t that the same?

No, these can sometimes be helpful supplements, but shouldn’t replace our time in God’s Word.

These are not the real meal, it is the supplements, the vitamins. The real meal comes from

God’s Word. Maybe we read God’s word, then go to a supplemental item, and return to God’s

Word to discover what it truly means and what it implies for our lives.

But what should it look like when I do read God’s word?

We first need to get away from our expectations of God’s Word. We encourage the listener to

take it out of the box we put it in, then allow the fullness to hit us at God’s tempo. When we

expect to read a chapter a night over a week and finish a book of the Bible, we set limited

expectations on the effect God’s Word can have on our lives. Instead we can read, pray, and

meditate on each verse. We think about that verse, we look at what the verses say, asking God

how else this applies to our lives or to other portions of scripture. The new Christian may not

know much of the Bible, but that doesn’t mean they need to rush through it. Ex: The Bible in a

year program. They can take the time and soak in it. Allowing God to transform at His pace. The

veteran Christian can apply what they’ve already read and see each verse in the web of

connections which scripture inherently shows across all books. They can ask questions about

how this applies to the here and now and how it applied prior.

Speakers recommend asking the following questions as you spend time in God’s Word.

1) In light of what I just read, who am I.

2) In light of what I just read, Who is God.

3) In light of what I just read, what is His plan for redeeming me and changing my life

around.

This transformative reading leads to the renewing of our minds as stated in Romans 12:2.