“I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:102-103 NIV
I’ve been in a bunch of Bible studies. (No, that’s not the dessert part, hold on!) Video studies, workbooks, lectures, you name it, I’ve studied that way. Lately, God has been calling me to sit down and open up His Word and nothing else - not a study workbook on his Word and not a laptop with reams of commentaries at my fingertips. Just. His. Word.
Sounds pretty simple. [Dramatic pause.] Not exactly. I had gotten so used to someone else asking the questions for me and guiding me to the answers that I had to work hard to do it for myself. I felt like a stumbling fool in the Word, but at the same time, I haven’t been enlightened like I have been recently in a long time.
Now, if you’re in the middle of a workbook study or something similar - You go, girl! Study His Word for all it’s worth. And by the word ‘study’ I mean more than just a quick perusal. I mean digging deep for answers, meditating on the precepts found, and working hard to apply what you’re learning. If you’ve never ventured into true study with just your Bible and a journal to record what God shows you, please give it a try. It’s like saying “Yes!” to the dessert menu. Here are a few sweet things I’m learning on this journey:
• God is my pace-setter: At one sitting I can read four chapters before I feel like God says, “Enough.” Then at another sitting, I can read four verses and God says, “Now stay here for a week.” Like a runner training for a race, I’ve felt the Spirit as my partner breathe right next to me urging me on strong for the right distance and then knowing when to slow down for me. On God’s timetable, I’ll never fall behind. He wants me to build my spiritual muscle and endurance and gives me this assurance from Jesus: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11: 29-30 NIV).
• The Holy Spirit is my teacher: I just love the library and I just love research. So when I’m surrounded by books and open tabs of web pages it makes me happy. There’s wisdom in finding solid teaching on God’s word. Yet, sometimes all those teachers teaching dilute the purity of the Master Teacher. It’s like seeing the truth through layers of different lenses. I need to see it with my own eyes. And it’s like hearing the truth through many different voices. I need the Voice of Truth. When I sit under one-on-one instruction with the Holy Spirit I receive a lesson that is tailor-made to make a difference right where God has me. Never underestimate the fact that there is only one you and the Holy Spirit speaks to you and through you in a way that isn't duplicated by any other teacher. “But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ” (1 John 2:27 NLT).
• The Church helps me: Studying the bible this way may seem like a lonely endeavor because the timing and topic are so individualized and small group discussion questions aren’t written at the end of every chapter. Surprisingly, I’ve found myself seeking a more true relationship. I don’t understand a lot of Scripture so I’m committed to asking a flesh and blood person for the answer first instead of the pale-faced character in my kitchen who goes by the name of Google. God tells me the first person I should go to is my husband. It’s been refreshing to give him the opportunity to be the spiritual head of our family and a springboard for a conversation that goes beyond daily happenings. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word…” (Ephesians 5:25-26 NIV). Also, I’ve been more interested in what my sisters in Christ have to say and their answers have been so uplifting and a means of growing relationship.
• Listen more: With the Holy Spirit as my teacher I have to listen better and longer. This is still the toughest part of bible study for me and I regularly fail. Also, instead of questions written by someone else, my spirit spilled over with my own questions and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by their audacity. After questioning, once again, it requires more listening for the answers. God’s Word can withstand any amount of examination - it was made to last forever - but, I absolutely love how He wants me to reason His Words out with Him and not blindly accept them. It’s like Jesus pats the spot next to him on a bench and patiently gives me his undivided attention modeling what it is to be a great listener. “‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord: ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land…’” (Isaiah 1:18-19 ESV).
God is always inviting us to eat. He created our bodies to need food and He’s encouraged us to want more than the beverage of spiritual milk. This journey of studying the Bible has taken me through to the meat. I’ve had to work harder and discipline myself to chew on the Word because sometimes it doesn’t go down as easy as I’d like it to. However, I have been so blessed by the dessert menu! There is a ’sticky’ kind of sweetness that comes from remaining under the Holy Spirit’s teaching. They’re lessons that stick because God helped me discover them for myself. May the Lord lead to the just desserts of studying His Word! “I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:102-103 NIV).
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