There's no good place for a large wall hanging in our current house, but years ago, while my husband was serving God's church in Grundy Center, Iowa, we had a large sign made by a local artist depicting a Bible verse that was very important to us at that time: “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."-John 4:34. The painting hung in our kitchen behind our table, a constant reminder that as we took part in God's work, we ourselves were being fed. It reminded us to enjoy the journey of working with God to make His good, perfect and pleasing will a reality in that community.
Today, in another town and a much smaller house, the painting sets in our basement, but we are still being fed, not only by following God in doing His will, but also by digesting His Word.
I admit, at times, I have not been overly hungry for God's word. The thought of reading my Bible has at times felt rewarding and intriguing, but at other times a chore. Whenever I have lacked hunger for His Word, I have a habit of praying and asking God to make me hungry...though please without too much pain.
I will never call a destructive thing God's doing. I don't completely understand how He works things out, but I know His heart and it is for good (Jeremiah 29:11). Still there was yet another painful event in my life that has left me for the past 3+ years extremely zealous for God's Word.
I broke a tooth, and 30 hours later, I was temporarily paralyzed. I was immediately certain that this inability to move and EXTREME pain was due to the tooth, but no one believed me. They diagnosed me with a slipped disk and told my husband I had suddenly developed an anxiety disorder. Sure, that's why he had to spoon feed me and I woke myself up in my sleep from screaming in pain. That's why my limbs involuntarily spasmed and moved. That's why if I moved my head my whole body went into motion. That's why I would pass out from the pain. All of this....for nearly 3 months. And then the news: It's a life threatening spinal infection caused by bacteria that should be in your mouth! Aha! I'm not that dumb or weak after all!
But I was weak. Because this pain and suffering came at a time when I hadn't been feeding myself very regularly at all. I read my Bible only here and there. Left in bed, unable to lift anything or move my head, all I could do was think and deal with the fact that I could not read my Bible. Physically, there was no way to do it. I cried. I cried so hard. I had neglected God's Word. I was starving and while someone could read it to me, I couldn't just have it whenever I wanted it. I could leave the TV on and watch "The Office" non-stop, but I didn't have access to God's Word and I had not memorized much of it. I was starving, and I felt it.
As I got better, I was overjoyed when I found my Bible open on a raised counter. I still remember being able to read it again for the first time. Thank God it was on the raised counter, as I still could not lift it. I promised then to get serious about feeding myself, and I hope I never take God's Word for granted again.
I remembered that my grandparents read their Bible together every day and had a plan they followed so they knew they had read the entire Bible each year. I had tried reading plans before and had read the Bible a few times in its entirety, but found those plans to be restrictive to what someone else thought I should read that day. I am not that big on following someone else's plan, and I tend to be quite messy. So if you are like me, perhaps you find those plans to be less than motivating as I did.
When I was able, I created a document with the name of each book and the numbers representing each chapter such as:
Genesis 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 4748 49 50
In this way, I could scratch off Genesis 1 and 2, jump over to John 1 and 2 and go back the next day being clear on what I had already read and what I had left to read. I also find it exciting to see visually on paper exactly how much I have read and what I have left.
If you read 4 chapters a day, you will have read the entire Bible in roughly a year. And I promise you, year after year, you will find new nuggets! "Wow! I never saw that before!" Must have kept my grandparents coming back year after year and I know it does for me as well.
Four chapters a day...that's two chapters after breakfast before brushing teeth and two before bed. Not hard at all. Especially if you leave your Bible out on the kitchen table open to where you will read next.
If I can binge "The Office," I can certainly make sure I get my fill of God's Word. It keeps us fed, well, and in our right minds. It gives us hope and courage to face the good times and the hard times.
To download for free this Bible reading guide, click here: https://lastinglove.us/products/books-of-the-bible-reading-guide