Don’t open your Bible
Yes, you heard me correctly. Leave your Bible closed for a moment.
Do you know where yours is?
Look for it if you don’t. Then find it and dust it off, but don’t open it.
Why keep it closed?
Why would I tell you to keep it closed?
Well, if you haven’t opened it in a while, then you’ve already accomplished this task.
Nothing like the feeling of a sense of accomplishment.
Now if you’ve found it or have it handy, grab hold of it, but, you guessed it, don’t open it.
Why not? Here’s why.
Your Bible
What thoughts go through your mind or what feeling do you get when you hold your Bible?
Guilt that you haven’t read it recently?
Confusion that you don’t understand what’s in it?
A sense that you don’t have time to read it?
How about a new thought?
Source of peace, comfort, and joy
This book you are holding in your hands can be the source of peace, comfort, and joy in your life.
How?
As a reminder that God is ever present and always available to us.
What I didn’t know
For a long time my Bible was a symbol of what I didn’t know and what I wasn’t doing, like a pair of neglected sneakers emphasizing a lack of exercise. But after reading through the Bible it has become a source of peace, wisdom, and strength.
Peaceful
When I pick up my Bible, I feel a little more peaceful.
When I open it, I know I’m going to experience something through the pages of scripture, from the words on the page. Sure, it might still be confusion, but I’m ok with that. I know if I keep reading, keep coming back to my Bible, something will stick, make sense, sink in, and make its way into my heart.
Anticipation
But it’s more than that. Now when I open my Bible I do so with anticipation. As I continue to read from the pages of scripture I keep stumbling upon amazing discoveries. Not every time I read, but knowing that I might see something really cool motivates me to keep reading.
A connection
What I do experience every time is a connection to Jesus. Even before I open my Bible I know that God is with me.
Are you holding your Bible? Know that God is with you.