Loving the Word

but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
Psalm 1:2-3 ESV

Psalm 1 teaches us that we are blessed when we spend time meditating on God’s word. The psalm even compares this to being like a tree planted by a stream. If we are a tree, then the word of God, the Bible, is our source of water. It is what allows us to grow and bear fruit, and without it we are left thirsty. It is why the psalm says that such a person not only meditates on God’s word but rejoices in it. It should be a joy for a Christian to quench their spiritual thirst by reading and studying and meditating on scripture.

But sometimes it doesn’t feel like a joy. I wish it were that easy, but often it can feel like a chore to read the Bible. I’ve experienced this feeling in the past, and many Christians experience the same thing. We all agree with the idea that reading the Bible makes our day better. We might even have stories of how we read the Bible in the morning, and then the passage that we read becomes applicable later that day. We mentally agree that we ought to read God’s word yet practically struggle to include it in our day. Or when we do include it, we fail to feel refreshed by it. Why is there this disconnect between knowing that it’s good for us but feeling bad about doing it?

Whenever I get sick I end up feeling very dehydrated, especially upon just waking up. I’m not an expert by any means, but my understanding is that your body uses more water when you’re sick because your immune system is more active. Because of this you get dehydrated faster, and it becomes even more important to make sure that you drink enough water so that your immune system can work properly. While I’m sick I know how important it is to drink water, but for some reason in the moment my body really doesn’t want to drink water. Maybe you’ve experienced this as well. I’ll be sick and dehydrated and holding a glass of water, trying to drink it, but every sip feels almost painful to my body. I don’t understand why it becomes so difficult to drink water, but I am only able to continue through it because I have the mental understanding of how much I need it.

This is the same scenario that we experience with reading God’s word. We are all inclined towards sin and influenced by the world around us. Because of this, our hearts can reject the word and make it feel like poison, despite knowing that it’s not. There are two ways out of this problem. The first is to grow in sanctification, rejecting sin and rejecting the world, and by pursuing God our hearts will grow to rejoice in his word just as Psalm 1 describes. The more we are sanctified the more we heal our sickness and desire the word. The second way is what to do while still sick, which is to drink the water anyway because we know it’s good for us. It is tough to read the word when our heart resists it, but just like drinking water when sick, it’s necessary and will also help towards healing our sickness.

Although it can be difficult to force ourselves to spend time reading the Bible in this situation, we can make it easier. I am only able to drink water when I’m sick because I understand the benefits and know how it will help my immune system. The more we understand how God is using his word to sanctify us and lead us toward him, the easier it will be for us to trust that reading it is necessary. God is using his word in so many ways for our spiritual benefit.

The Bible is truly God’s word and is effective to teach us and equip us for good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God’s word is living and pierces us by discerning our hearts and convicting us of sin (Hebrews 4:12). It is through the word of God that we were born again, and it continues to abide in us (1 Peter 1:23-25). It remains an assurance of our salvation as long as we hold fast to it and the message of the gospel that it contains (1 Corinthians 15:1-2). The word of God is the sword of the Spirit within the armor of God which helps us to stand against evil (Ephesians 6:17). God’s promise of eternal life has been manifested in his word (Titus 1:2-3).

These are just a few ways that God’s word helps us along the walk of our Christian life. Experiencing the truth of these statements is one of the main things that has made reading the Bible go from feeling like a chore to feeling refreshing. The more time I spend in the word, the more I am able to see how deep it goes. The deeper I get into scripture, the more I understand of God’s character and his heart. The more that I understand God’s character, the more I am encouraged to read the word. I’m very thankful that this cycle has made reading the word so much easier for me. Because of it, I am able to love the word so much more, and my hope is that every believer might be able to share in that feeling.