“What If I Don’t Feel Like Reading My Bible?”
How many of us wake up in the morning and jump up for joy at the thought of reading the Bible? I dare say most of us on most days are not opening up our Bibles this way.
We’re cold. Tired. Our kids are already awake and restless. The day’s schedule is already bearing down on our minds. We’re anxious. We want to stay in bed.
Many mornings it’s a battle to read the Bible, let alone read it with expectancy and joy.
So, what should you do if you don’t feel like reading your Bible?
Option 1 ~ Don’t read it. This is the worst option. You should never choose to not read the Bible. Rom 10:17 tells us that the Bible produces faith. Psa 119:11 tells us that the word treasured protects us from sin. 2 Tim 3:16 says that the Scriptures comprehensively shape us and change us.
Some will say it’s better to not read the Bible if you don’t feel like reading because you’ll be reading it legalistically then. That argument leads us to our 2nd option.
Option 2 ~ Just read it. Because God’s word produces faith (again, Rom 10:17), reading it is the one external activity we must do, even if we don’t feel like it. God can (and does) use our dry reading of it to do a supernatural work in our hearts. There is nothing like the word of God in terms of its spiritual power, which operates apart from what we feel or don’t feel (Heb 4:12).
But this is where we have to be careful and go on to our 3 rd option.
Option 3 ~ Just read it, but purify your heart before you read the Bible. What do I mean? Lacking the feeling, the joy and love, to read the Bible is a sign of a dry and faithless heart. It’s unbelief, and that’s a sin (Rom 14:23). So, when you feel like not reading your Bible, the first thing you must do is repent – repent of your coldness and distance from God. Repent of your unbelief in the preciousness and power of His word. Repent that you don’t believe 2 Tim 3:16 in that moment. Repent that you’re thinking so little of His truths and promises to you.
Then, turn to Christ and rest in His forgiveness of your sins. Believe in 1 Jn 1:9. Believe that God still loves you and wants to use your Bible reading for your good and His glory by changing you through it. Believe that even the weakest faith will be rewarded with spiritual treasures as you read God’s word (Heb 11:6).
As you repent and believe, guess what happens? Your heart starts to change, doesn’t it? The feelings do follow – they may not be overpowering, but they will be there.
So, read with repentance and faith. That’s the only way Bible reading will become a delightful duty. And though He can bless even a faithless reading of His word, the best way to read it is to deal with our feelings in His presence first, and then read.
In this way, we will actually treasure His word in our heart. Because it is, after all, treasure.