Loving God’s Word Daily

“Read Bible daily.”

What have you done to develop a daily habit of Bible reading?

To remind myself to do so, I put a yellow sticky note on my journal. Another one with the devotional I read each day. Another on my computer screen, a bright green one I’d see first thing when I start my writing day..

As with most of my to-do notes, I saw them and promptly ignored them, choosing instead to write in the journal, read the devotion, or go to work on my assignments. The struggle to read God’s Word daily continues.

One a Day – Like Vitamins

For over forty years, a daily devotional time has started my days … well, most of them, anyway. I created a habit while reading devotions, praying, and journaling—I read aloud every Bible verse used in a devotion or Bible study or in my journaling time and then underline the verse in a Bible I chose for this purpose. That  colorful Bible shows my connection to and love of God’s Word.

But doing this daily sums up most of my reading of His love letter to me. At least my Bible is showing the use after all these years. I think I’d win the “Sword Drills” of our daughter’s AWANA days!

Once in a Lifetime

To force myself to read His Word regularly, I used one of the read-the-Bible-in-a-year programs and did fine, though I had to double up a few times on the day’s readings. I enjoyed the process because, one, it got me through the entire Bible for the first time in my life, and two, the chronological style of the program gave me a clear view of God’s plan for me and all mankind, from pre-creation to the second coming of Jesus and our eternal home.

In Love with Words

My daily reading trouble wasn’t that I didn’t love God’s Word. I did … oh, so much. As an English major, all words spoke to me. At a conference, I thrilled to listen to Col. Gariepy of the Salvation Army talk about unique literary aspects of the Bible. He told us that in the 176 verses of Psalm 119, only four did not mention one or another synonym for God’s Word.

Of course, when I got home, I had to prove it to myself. I grabbed my NKJV translation and counted the verses that didn’t contain one of those synonyms, such as “commandments,” “testimonies,” “word,” and others. I came up with five verses total, but whatever that number would’ve been, it didn’t matter at all.

While poring over these Scriptures, I fell in love with Psalm 119. The words filled my soul with a new awareness of what God, in His infinite love for me … for us, had written. I wanted more.

One Word at a Time?

Then an idea struck me. Years before, I did an exercise with the shortened version of I John 4:8—the first Bible verse our daughters memorized: “God is love.”

I noticed the difference it made to put the accent on each word separately.

GOD is love: the Creator of the universe and all mankind, the One who sent His Son to die for me, the Lord who loves me more than I can imagine … God is love personified.

God IS love: a form of “to be,” a present state of being, a word pointing to the next important word … God exists here and now to love me.

God is LOVE: as a noun—a source of love, the embodiment of it; as a verb—acting in a loving manner ALWAYS … God loves because He and love are synonymous.

Developing a Habit

This! This would help me make Psalm 119 come alive! I hurried to my office supplies’ cabinet … okay, room and unearthed an old steno book I had from my bookkeeping days. It suited my purpose perfectly.

After opening my Bible to Psalm 119:1, I found a blank page and copied each word on its own line in the left-hand column. My plan was to read the verse aloud emphasizing the first word, writing in the right-hand column book how the accented word translated the meaning of the verse to me.

Wow! Verse 1 blew me away! Indeed, the first word in Verse 1 quickened my pulse. This was going to take much longer than I expected, time I gratefully had and would relish.

The First Word

BLESSED.

Time to turn to my trusty copy of The Complete Christian Dictionary for Home and School. I love how the definitions in this volume include not only the typical meanings, but also possible Christian-based themes. And best of all, it lists a few Scriptures in which the words could be found.

As a verb, BLESSED could mean prayed over. I could hear my mom’s daily prayers, asking God to keep me on the right path.

As an adjective, the typical meaning was “enjoying happiness.” Of course, if I walk in the right way, happiness can be mine. The Christian theme in my definition, though, stood out—“favored by God.” One word in and my heart abounded in warmth and peace. I was “favored by God.”

Mary also found favor with God and was chosen to bear His Son. What task would God have for me, His favored one in the 21^st century? I knew I should read on and find out.

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And All the Rest …

Word by word … sometimes, syllable by syllable, I read … devoured … and loved every nuance of the heart of God in Psalm 119. It took me over a year, but I’ve never enjoyed reading my Bible more than I did that year.

Did it spring-start my daily reading as I desired? Sadly, no. I still struggle today to make that a 24/7, 365-day habit. However, now and then, I go back to that exercise. Going through I John made me cry. Reading Psalm 121, my favorite Psalm, in this way opened my eyes to something I’d missed in its eight simple verses. And currently, I’m planning to go through the New Testament and do this with all the red-lettered verses. Oh, can you imagine the love that waits for me in the words our Savior spoke?! I just got heavenly goosebumps typing that

Words of the Word

No, doing this isn’t enough for my read-the-Bible-daily desire, but it speaks through His Word to my soul. I think it’s God’s way of letting me know He understands. That daily reading of Scripture will happen when it does, how it does.

As you read your Bible, either daily or intermittently, whether in a cracked, leather bound book or on a Bible app on your phone, give this exercise a try. Choose a simple verse, maybe your favorite verse, and read it aloud emphasizing the first word. Maybe you, as I did, will fall deeper in love with the words of the Word. I pray it may be so. AND it might mean reading the Bible daily!