I can’t stand slowing down. Few things get me more frustrated than a slow driver in the far left lane. Sick days are the worst because they don’t just slow me down. They make me stop. This desire to be busy and active serves me well most of the time…except when it comes to reading my Bible.
Can you relate? It’s easy to see Bible reading and prayer as an additional thing on my To Do List. The faster I get it done, the more I can accomplish in a day. But like all relationships, our relationship with the Lord takes time. It requires us to slow down. Think of reading your Bible like a piece of hard candy. The more time you spend chewing on it, the more you get out of it.
For some of you, summer means slowing down. For others, it means a new kind of busyness. Rather than running kids to afterschool activities or going to and from various church commitments, you find yourself frantic with vacation plans, yard work, and family gatherings. With so many co-workers in and out for the summer, work might even pick up the pace too with a skeleton crew. All this still sounds busy, doesn’t it?
As you think about your spiritual life this summer, I want to challenge you to slow down. Don’t chug from the fountain of living water. Sip it slowly. Savor its sweetness and be refreshed. And, with that in mind, here are some ways I have found to slow down:
- Read smaller chunks – If I set a more ambitious goal of reading three or four chapters of the Bible, I will often read them much more quickly. Sometimes this is good if I’m looking for big themes instead of details. But if I want to take in the details, I find something more like a chapter works well. That way I get to spend more time on each idea, sentence, or word. The details soak in.
- Write – I think better when I write. Something I’ve been doing for the past couple months is writing some brief thoughts after I read. It’s usually never more than a few sentences. This forces me to slow down and reflect on what I just read rather than putting it down too quickly.
- Cross-References – Cross-references are a great way to slow down. They help me draw connections with other passages of Scripture and give me additional insight. For example, maybe Jesus is quoting an Old Testament passage that I would have missed at first. Knowing that can help me understand what I’m reading more deeply. Taking the time to look up the cross-references can place the passage in the context of the rest of Scripture.
I’ve learned that slowing down doesn’t have to mean I’m less fruitful. In fact, it makes me more fruitful. This is certainly the case as I read the Bible. My encouragement for you this summer is not to rush. Take your time and let the Lord speak to you through his Word.
In Him,
Tom