One of my daughters was sick recently (like many are this time of year), and her cold stole her appetite completely. After a couple days she was still feeling sluggish. But her fatigue was no longer from the cold, but because she had hardly eaten any food! Generally her appetite mimics the hobbit diet (breakfast, second breakfast, Elevenses, etc…), but now I was required to be intentional and creative to find ways for her to eat.
And so it is with the Bible, beloved. Our desire to read the Bible can be likened to our appetite for food. The words of Jesus come to mind: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4) George Mueller, 19th century English evangelist and orphanage director, captured it so succinctly when he said “The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it.”
Have you experienced this before? I sure have. Sometimes, I can’t wait to read the Bible again, because of what I read the previous day. But other times, I’m not motivated to be in God’s Word.
Oftentimes, this lack of motivation is because I haven’t been intentional about what I am going to be reading next in the Bible.
As I referenced in the sermon this past Sunday, the Scriptures bear witness to Jesus (John 5:39). All of them! If we aren’t in the Scriptures, we won’t freshly see Jesus. So we must make an intentional effort to regularly read Scripture.
Moving into 2022, a practical way I’m feeding myself with Scripture is to follow the Digging Deep into the Bible reading plan through the ESV app.
The plan provides me with a good balance of four different genres of the Bible. The app gives me the option to listen to the sections back to back. Since finding a quiet space alone isn’t always easy for me, this is convenient in my current life stage. I am able to listen to the Scripture passage while I make breakfast, do chores, or while I’m driving.
My hope is not to convince you to do the same thing I’m doing. What you need in terms of Bible intake could very likely be different than mine. Rather, my encouragement to you is to be intentional, perhaps even creative, in regularly reading Scripture. In case you find it helpful, check out the varied bible reading plans through ESV as a starting place.
As we’re intentional, we’ll find ourselves seeing Jesus more! We’ll have an increased appetite for God’s Word, like hobbits, ever hungry for the next meal!
