May I have a Word?

I have been reading through the Bible.

Some books have taken me less time to read than others. I seem to get stuck in books like Leviticus, Deuteronomy, I & II Chronicles, etc. As I read, I find myself doing just that, reading. Like a novel I scan one word after the other, one paragraph to the next, chapter after chapter. But the Bible is not like any other novel that I can read through, enjoying some parts, saying, "hmm that's interesting...well written", and put it down and go about my life as if what I just read was Jane Austen's "Pride and Predjudice," - interesting and enjoyable, but not powerful, true, encouraging, or life-changing.

This past weekend I realized something about myself.

My life is relatively easy compared to some and I have a strong tendency to want to do things myself, excepting no help from others. My way is generally the right way, after all, well, isn't it. Because of these tendencies I don't always rely on God to lead me and I attempt to "handle" things on my own. This attitude has been creeping into my Bible studies. I began to get comfortable and to read the Bible as if I already know what it contains and therefore what more could it offer me, I am doing alright, after all. Wrong.

Here I sit with the power of God's word, his very breath at my fingertips. It lays on my living room coffee table bursting with affirmations, comfort, strength only to be pick up once a day and be "read through." What a shame.

Lord, may I never take you for granite or view your word as a well-bound group of pages made for a casual read. But may I draw from your power and take advantage of the promises you have made and the life you offer and so desperately want me to take hold of.

Still learning,
Beth