Slow Down
A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to help teach a discipleship class on Bible translations and offer a brief overview of how to study the bible. Hermeneutics is one of my favorite topics. What? (Google is your friend). I wanted to come out of the gate with a fist full of lists of the most excellent and current resources Amazon can provide! “And you too can have it delivered right to your door!” But instead, I opened with “S-L-O-W D-O-W-N!”
We are a grab and go society! We fly into circumstances and jet out just as fast. We do the same with our devotions and study time. We seem more concerned with that glorious moment of checking the box in our daily reading list that we actually miss understanding what we’ve read. Missing important details. Those details paint God’s wonderful love story. Details that boldly tell us what pleases Him. Instead, we offer up a hurried pit stop and then we close the Book, put our half-drunk (now cold) coffee on the counter and head out into our day. If we think of it (just maybe) there is a quick over the shoulder glance with a rushed “Thanks Lord.”
Slow down.
The Bible is a spiritual book, not to be all-mystic and such, but it is— spiritual. Paul says it is “God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Folks, it’s our manual. As the Pastor of Hebrews declares it is “living and active… it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Why rush the divine process. Giving Holy Spirit opportunity to speak to our alignment with His Word, like when a banker holds up to the light a $20 bill, looking for counterfeit markings. His word is our standard.
Slow down.
Pray before we even open The Book and invite the Author to walk us through it. Pray while reading, “Show me Lord, speak, teach, grace my heart to hear and heed.” In doing so, we not only read the Word, but we allow the Word to read us!
I would offer, if possible (without creating too much anxiety with the NEED to check that box) —read smaller portions. Read as if once we close the book, we are now going to share with someone (in our own words) what we just read. THIS will help us read differently. Look for details differently. Hear differently. God designed His holy writ to be interactive. The Psalmist repeated multiple times in the beloved Psalm 119, “Teach me” as he describes his love for God’s word.
As we close that wonderful Book, pray too, asking Holy Spirit to wallpaper our heart with what we just read. May it be our heart’s view for the day. Tomorrow? With great anticipation and expectation—we will do it again.
Slowing down.
In Him, DeDe (“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love & good deeds” – Hebrews 10:24).
Inspired Fountain 