Hi friend! I’m excited to share today’s post with you because it’s something I feel so passionate about — engaging with Scripture!
You probably already know how much I love the Word of God. My husband says it doesn’t matter what passage I’m reading or teaching, it’s my favorite. And, well, that’s pretty much the truth. I fell in love with God’s Word many years ago and it never ceases to leave me awed.
It’s why I teach … because I want other women to encounter Scripture the way I did in 1994 and be willing to continue to engage with it as I have been. I want everyone to know the life-changing impact the Bible has on us when we really interact with it.
What Happens When We REALLY Engage with God’s Word
What does it mean to engage with God’s Word? That’s probably a great place to start this conversation, right? The definition of engage is “to occupy, attract, or involve someone’s interest or attention.” So, when we engage with Scripture, it attracts our attention and occupies our interest. We find ourselves hungry for more understanding and passionate for time spent in its pages. Why does this happen? Because the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself for us and to us — when we spend time growing in knowledge and understanding of the Word, we are spending time growing in knowledge and understanding of God Himself. That’s a pretty powerful reason to do it, right?
Last weekend I went to a conference where Jen Wilkin was speaking. {If you haven’t, you need to get her book Women of the Word. So good.} She was sharing about biblical literacy and most of it was information I’d heard her give before on podcasts and in interviews. {I still took 13 pages of notes … but you know, whatever. haha!} One of my favorite Jen Wilkin quotes is:
The heart cannot love what the mind does not know.
Stop there for a moment and think about that. I thought I loved Scott Underwood almost 23 years ago when we said, “I do.” But today, after years spent facing life together, I love him so much more than I ever dreamed. And that’s because I know him so much better, so much more deeply. As our knowledge increases, so does our love — in relationships with others and in our relationship with the Lord.
Time spent in Scripture is valuable because as we know the God of Scripture, we will love the God who saved us.
EXALTATION OF GOD
Which leads us directly to the first thing that happens when we engage with the Word of God — EXALTATION!
We need go no further than Genesis 1:1 to find reason to exalt the God of the Bible — He created it all. With His word everything took shape and came into being. That’s definitely worthy of our awe, of our worship.
Throughout Scripture we see the awesomeness and majesty of God on display. In passages like Job 38 through 41, God tells of His own power. Every time I read those chapters, I’m left speechless at Who He is. But the New Testament is also full of reasons for us to exalt God. Even at age 47, I can not read Colossians 1:15-20 without choking up at this God who created all things and gave His Son for us, His Son who holds all things together. Y’all, if that doesn’t move you to your knees, then take a peek at Revelation 21:1-6. We need to spend time in His Word so we can be reminded every day that He is worthy to be exalted! That He is God and we are not.
EDIFICATION OF OURSELVES AND OTHERS
The second thing that happens to us when we engage in God’s Word is that we are EDIFIED. Yes, that’s a church word, I know. But it’s a great word. It simply means ” to instruct or improve, especially spiritually.”
God’s Word instructs us, gives us the wisdom we need to grow spiritually. And it also gives us a way to edify or encourage others in their spiritual growth as well. Consider these verses:
How can a young man keep his way pure?
Psalm 119:9-10 ESV
By guarding it according to your word.
1With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16 ESV
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
2 Timothy 3:16 ESV
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 ESV
The Bible gives us not only a deeper understanding of Who God is but also of what He expects and desires from us. His Word provides us with the sustenance we need for living spiritually.
ENJOYING SCRIPTURE
The third thing we gain when we make engaging with God’s Word a priority is the reality of ENJOYING Scripture. The more time we spend in the Bible, the more we delight in knowing God through His Word, the more we will long for more of Him and more time in His Word.
Yes, there are times when all of us feel as if our time in the Word is an obligation or something to be checked off our to do list. But as we mature, we find those times to be fewer. Instead, we long to open the pages of our Bibles, desperate to know more of this incredible God Who has redeemed us and called us His own.
We understand the prophet Jeremiah’s words,
Your words were found, and I ate them,
Jeremiah 15:16 ESV
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
We sing with the psalmist of the beauty and blessing of time spent in the Word.
I will meditate on your precepts
Psalm 119:15-16 ESV
and fix my eyes on your ways.
1I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Friend, God’s Word is truly something to enjoy! It’s not just a book of rules or a novel to be read — it is living and active and it is God breathed and useful in every area of our lives. But even more beautiful, it is the place we can go to learn more about this amazing God Who sent His Son for us.
I hope you enjoy God’s Word … I hope it leads you to exalt Him and draws you near to Him and other through edification.
Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were encouraged!!
xoxo,
Teri Lynne
P.S Be sure to check out the IN THE WORD highlights on my Instagram for encouragement and ideas for engaging with God’s Word. Earlier this week I shared how repetitive reading can really help you gain a deeper understanding of a passage.
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