Today’s reading: Nehemiah 8:9-12
Yesterday I wrote about how I was motivated and convicted by the scene of Nehemiah 8:1-8–the gathering of all the people to listen to the reading of Scripture for the better part of one day. And that happened to me again today. As I took in verses 9-12, which is a continuation of the powerful opening scenario, we see that the people are greatly moved by hearing and understanding God’s Word.
“For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law” (vs. 9).
This verse got me thinking about how I respond to Scripture. There are times when I am moved to tears as I’m taking in God’s Word and it washes over me. But there are also times when I struggle to feel connected to God as I read. Why is that? I know that God and His Word are constant and never changing, so that means that the only thing that is different between the two scenarios is me–my attitude as I turn to read, my mood, my mindset, the busyness of my day, where I’m at, if I’m alone, noise levels–you get the picture. Which brings me to the conclusion that if I want to get the most out of my time in God’s Word (and I do) then I need to be intentional about preparing myself (emotionally, mentally, physically) so that I can have quality time with God every time I pick up His Word.
How much time or thought do you give to things like setting, location, circumstances, mood, time of day, noise, etc. when it comes to reading your Bible? Why is this important? How can you improve the quality of the time you spend with God in the Bible going forward? Tami
Source: Tami’s Blog
