It is like we procrastinate something as simple as reading the Bible, but why? Why do we make it seem like it is something so complex that we can only get stuff out of it when we go to church and have it broken down for us? Sure that’s good but is it sufficient? Our soul needs to be fed daily, not starved off of a meal a week. We all want to grow in our walk with God, grow spiritually and passionately in our faith, so why is reading our Bible so hard?
I was watching this video the other day and it was talking about procrastination, why do we procrastinate anything? In it, she was saying that it is because of the feelings we get from doing that task that you’re putting off. You don’t want to feel those emotions or go through doing the motions so we naturally do something that makes us feel better. For instance, many teenagers and students in school procrastinate school work, often because the feelings we get when we’re doing homework is confusion, which makes us feel dumb and then stress about not being able to get it done, etc. Those feelings that are uncomfortable and not pleasant to endure are something we subconsciously want to avoid so we prolong the inevitable. Many of us when it comes to the Bible may be confused on where to start, they think of the Bible as this complex book too hard to read or are worried about obtaining the message and understanding what God is saying to them. So simply by discrediting yourself before even beginning and believing that it is too hard is a major roadblock and keeps us from doing what we know we should be doing.
This mindset, the mindset of not wanting to grow, thinking things are too hard is a fixed mindset, meaning you believe you cannot grow, you’re stuck how you are, what’s the point in even trying?? This right there is the enemy beating you down, getting in your head, and silencing your future opportunities and potential impact with lies and feelings that cause us to be in discomfort, resulting in us avoiding actions that will make us be in dissonance. We need to rise above those feelings, because let me tell you the moment you dive deep and are into the word and in God's presence you are truly changed, and our path and life will not always be pleasant and magnificent to go through. There will be challenges and trials we face, but it is up to us to rise above our circumstances taking heart in knowing that our creator, our Father, the ultimate power is on our side and with Him, we will not fail!! Are we going to stay in a constant rut passing up new opportunities day by day or are we going to take up our cross and grow in so many ways than we can even begin to imagine to live out our God-given destiny??
All this leading me back to the question at hand, why do we put off reading our Bible? Some of us may feel that we are in a place where we are discouraged, “too busy," hopeless, find it boring to read, or whatever it may be! Those distractions and feelings steering us away from the word are a tactic of the enemy, because he knows how powerful and impactful the Word is to our lives. He does not want us to be strong and rooted in a solid foundation because that means we would be motivated in working for our Godly mission of spreading the Gospel and saving lives, as we have to remember that he wants to take as many down with him as he can. We need to push past our own feelings, our own fleshly ways, and do as we are called! Even if it is just as small as 15 minutes that is 15 minutes of growth and although it may not seem like much, as time goes on that builds and builds and you will begin to see breakthroughs taking place! Just as a farmer plants a seed, it does not grow right away but after careful nurturing, taking time and effort to look after those plants is when a harvest occurs. A farmer is so diligent in his works because they can see what they will produce and gain in the future, they know the benefits of working in the fields and taking care of their plants day after day, even if they don’t get a harvest immediately they plan out and can see what benefit this will give them selling their crops in the future. So by being motivated with a goal in mind to pursue, it helps them to stay accountable in nurturing their plants and seeing them through to the end.. The same with us, to help us stay in the word and on fire for Jesus we have to get an understanding of what He has done and continues to do for us while looking towards what is to come and finding an end goal we are trying to get to and work towards. We can view the church as the farmers working in the field planting seeds in the lost wherever they go by showing the kindness and love of Jesus Christ to all, slowly but surely there will be a great harvest as long as we don’t get discouraged and are deeply rooted in hope which comes from reading the Bible!! So take heart in knowing that by being persistent in working towards God's mission for His church we become fruitful and wise, helping us to stay on track in our path and lead others to Christ.
All of this is for a purpose, you were created for a purpose but how are you supposed to know that purpose if you don’t spend time in the word? The word is our ultimate guide book for life, gives us advice, words of encouragement, testimonies, and hope for the future by looking at what has already been done in the past. If he did it once HE WILL DO IT AGAIN!! When you are feeling discouraged, hopeless, pain, weariness, etc. the best thing you can do is to open that Bible! The Bible contains so much, it gives us wisdom and hope to keep moving forward, there are verses to read meant to inspire through whatever period you are going through! It is not meant to be intimidating but isn’t that so unique and special that God loves us so much, He knew what we would be going through, things happening in our life that He thought ahead and gave us this book of truth to base our life off of, to get us through the roughest of times, evidence of the past and hope for the future isn’t that so special, gracious and loving of our God; that He knew we would be going through tough times so he provided and gave us the Bible to read and take heart in that will uplift us in the darkest of times and encourage us in the brightest?! God is so good, it is so awing and just mesmerizing how perfect and good He is!! And if that doesn’t get you pumped to be able to worship, praise, glorify, and live for God, man then I don't know what will because that sure gives me so much to be thankful for all the time.
With that said, we need to prioritize God into our lives, He is never too busy for us so we should not be too busy for our own Father! We can make time for Netflix, hanging with friends, alone time, and everyday activities, but not for the word?? The blueprint of our lives?? If we’re temples we can’t be built very sturdily, if we’re not taking time to read the instructions, the details, and nurturing the inside structure and foundation! Even Jesus knew the power of being in God's presence and putting Him at the forefront of His life on the daily, and if Jesus, our savior, needed to be in God's presence every single day, imagine how much more we need to be in it! Take, for instance, this; Jesus probably did not want to die, He did not want to go through all the suffering, pain, and agony, but He still did it. He laid down His life, His own personal feelings, and did as He was called, He obeyed God to fulfill His purpose on Earth and give everyone the chance to be saved into a place called Heaven! Could you imagine if He went and hid, and said, "Sorry God, not today!" or if He kept pushing it off until a later time more convenient for Him? Our lives and faith would be looking a whole lot different, right about now. However, Jesus was aware of what needed to be done, He knew what He would be going through but He also knew the bigger picture and saw where this would get not only Himself but every human, so out of His perfect love He prayed, "Yet not My will, but Yours be done," (Luke 22:42). We need to take this and apply it to our own lives because so often we make the excuse of being too busy for the word, but that is not true, it is simply an excuse for an out and pushing it off until later. We need to change our perspective on this busyness that once we start to view us praying more, then we will have more peace in our everyday lives, once we invite God into our busyness by making there be time in His presence then our patterns and habits will start to change when we are covered in Him on the daily we will then start to see that our lives won’t feel so busy and chaotic anymore!!
The things we surround ourselves with, the everyday influences make an impact on who we become. The things we watch and read, all play a role in our actions, behavior, moods, and thoughts! So surround yourself with negative influences, those not aligning with truth and pushing to do evil, we start to see our fall and distance growing between us and God. Or on the other hand, we can start to cut out those toxic surroundings and get out of an environment that throws negativity at us and become so enveloped in an environment of truth, encouragement, and faith and we will start to see our mindset being transformed, lives being changed, strongholds broken, and an overall positive glow and presence about yourself that you are the impacting those around you, being a beacon of light to the lost, and an inspiration to many to start their journey to salvation! Make today your tomorrow, your day one and dive into the Bible, because you will regret nothing if you truly, genuinely do it for the glory of God! You’ll never regret losing anything to gain Him!
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks,” -Luke 6:45
"Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character," -1 Corinthians 15:33
"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory," -Colossians 3:1
Often times, a huge roadblock in taking the time to read the Bible is not knowing how. If that is the instance for you, no need to fret, don't overthink reading the Bible by making it a super complex task. If you have never read the Bible before, a good place to start is the four gospels, located in the New Testament. These books, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the stories of Jesus and all He did. To dive into the Bible, I recommend starting with a prayer, ask God to help you have an open heart and mind to receive all that He has for you before reading. Then as you read, whatever you may not understand or comprehend, look it up!! There are so many resources and websites out there that explain scripture and there is no shame in looking up verses as it is a normal thing to do! Whatever you end up reading, consider taking notes on what sticks out to you and the overall message, what is God trying to say to you or get you to notice from His word? Also, on my resources page (https://avasantiago.wixsite.com/inked/resources), there is a free template anyone can download and use to help guide their time in reading the word! Or if you do not have a Bible there is a free online version at https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/.
I pray that this has helped any and all to reignite their fire and motivation to dig into the word or has just lit the flame to get them introduced to the Bible! And if this hasn't been motivation enough, an inspiring video to me which changes my perspective every time is this, Christian Patterson. God bless!
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