Raise the Standard and the Expectation for Your Bible Study

For Christmas I was gifted a new Bible - a beautiful NIV Bible with room for notes and journaling in the margins. But that night, I sat in bed holding this Bible, and cried.

My heart was saddened at the idea of putting my old Bible away - the one I had for at least five years and walked through so many seasons with the Lord. God had taught me so much through that Bible and brought me freedom in many areas, and it was with that Bible that my faith was tested and refined in both heartbreaking and beautiful ways. It was with that Bible that I walked through a breakup, new love, hurt, new friendships, moving to college, defeating depression and anxiety, and so much more. And I felt that I was leaving all of that behind by moving on to a new Bible. I didn't want to let go of the memories and victory and wisdom that Bible held, the stories of God's goodness and tears of pain that were etched into every single page.

But with my hands open to heaven and tears streaming down my face, the Lord put a renewed hope and excitement into my heart. The phrase "fresh revelation" kept repeating itself in my mind, and that was my prayer over this new Bible. I asked that the Lord would provide fresh revelation in my learning and study of His Word, that He would take me deeper into understanding Scripture and that it would be written on my heart. I more intentionally invited the Holy Spirit into my Bible studies, longing for a new perspective and greater wisdom as I dove into Scripture with expectation and joy. Even though I knew I would be reading the same stories that I've grown up hearing, I wanted to see them in a new light - see God Himself and my identity in a new light.

The very next day, I started all the way in Genesis 1, and God already began answering this prayer. As I studied the story of creation, I learned new things that I had never heard of before - and my excitement bloomed. When we actually invite the Lord into our time with Him and approach His Word with an open heart and an open mind, He shows up. The Bible is alive and active, and there is so much that we can continually learn and uncover. We serve a God who is so ready to reveal new truth and wisdom to us if we allow Him to,

This whole experience and the process of getting a new Bible reminded me of how easy it is to become complacent in our time in the Word. It is so easy to lose enthusiasm and excitment when we come to our time with Jesus and turn it into routine. With my old Bible, I found myself reading the same Scriptures I always had and neglecting to put in the work to learn something new; I settled for reading over my old notes and moving on, instead of creating space for the Holy Spirit to reveal new perpsective and wisdom. When I should have approached the Bible with high expectations and enthusiasm of what I would learn, I assumed I knew what I needed to know - and missed out.

We need to start raising the expectation and standard for our Bible study. We need to start calling for God to reveal Himself in new ways during our time with Him, instead of settling for the same unengaging routine we go through every day.

I'm all for starting somewhere, and sometimes that means starting small. I also am all for scaling back when we need to take a break from deep diving into Scripture. With that being said, though, the entire purpose of our Bible study should be to meet with the Lord, encounter His presence, and learn more about who His, who He says we are, and how He calls us to live. We shouldn't be skating through our Bible study; we should be really intentional, present, and purposeful to be learning and growing. It's not a task to check off the list, but an opportunity to meet and commune with the God of the universe. That's not something to take lightly!

And this doesn't mean we necessarily need to radically change the way we study the Bible, but it does mean that we need to radically change our mindset towards our Bible study and how we approach it.

I think the simplest way to do this is to pray about it. Ask the Lord for fresh revelation and for Him to reveal Himself to you in new ways. Ask Him to open your eyes to what He wants you to learn, and invite His correction, encouragement, and refinement as you study. Spend time praying over what you read and ask that Jesus would transform you and help you to walk in the truth. Meditate on Scripture and sit in stillness, making space for the Holy Spirit to speak over you and teach you.

Show up to your time with the Lord focused and humble, submissive to the Father and eager to recieve His wisdom and experience His presence. Create a space that is personal and intimate, between just you and Jesus, in an environment where you can pour your heart out to the Lord and hear from Him.

Raise the standard. May our Bible study not be a place where we come and go, but that we remain in the Holy Spirit and presence of God all day long, filling our mind with Scripture, going deep, and learning more and more every day. Expect that God will show up - because He will, when you invite Him and create space for Him.

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When you slow down, pray, and reflect, how is your Bible study going? Has your time been meaningful and deep, or going through the motions to check off the task on the to do list? Does your time in the Word leave you refreshed or unmoved? I'd challenge you to really bring all these feelings to the Lord and ask Him what His vision for your time with Him looks like. Invite Him to correct, challenge, and encourage you, and be open to what He might say. Maybe you need a revitalized passion and intention when you come to Him each day, or maybe you need to remain steadfast and keep doing what you're doing.

Before you leave, I want to say a quick prayer over you today:

Lord, thank You for the person on the other side of the screen. Thank You for bringing them here, giving them breath in their lungs, and having an intentional purpose for their life. Thank You for their desire to know You and seek You, to have meaningful time in the Word and in Your presence. I pray that You would set them on fire, Jesus, with a renewed enthusaism to meet with You. Raise the standards for what they expect in their Bible study and challenge them to believe that You will show up. Help refine their time with You to become a place of growth and learning, surrender and conviction. May we become a people who abides in the Spirit all day, meditating on Scripture all day, instead of leaving it when our Bible study "ends". Thank You Jesus for the priviledge of studying Your Word and the gift that Scripture is. I am so thankful Jesus, and I love You so much. Amen.