Four Reasons to Quit Reading the Bible–What?

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And do this instead . . .

Shocking, isn’t it? Me telling you to quit reading your Bible???? Indulge me and take a moment to meander through the possibilities.

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Am I proposing that you put the Bible down and never pick it up again? No way! But what I am suggesting are four things that you should allow yourself to do while you’re reading your Bible. This may involve putting it down, or stopping. But not to worry. It’s for some very very good reasons!!!

Reason #1. Follow Those Rabbit Trails

You know how you’re always told to focus, focus, focus? Don’t allow your mind to wander. Stay on task! But this is one time when it’s okay, no, it’s strongly recommended that you let your mind go and follow those rabbit trails as they come up. Here’s the idea.

You’re reading along. Let’s say you’re in Psalm 23 (The Lord is my Shepherd . . .), and you wonder, “What does a shepherd really do with his sheep out there in the wilderness? Is there always food and water available for the sheep and for the shepherd? What kind of danger comes along for the sheep? What’s that rod and staff for? What happens when the shepherd is sleeping?”

Do you see where this is going? Aha, I need to understand the life of a shepherd better so I can understand what it means to have the Lord as my Shepherd. So, I wander–I quit reading the Psalm . . . I look at John 10. It’s a little long, but bear with me.

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

So, putting aside Psalm 23, I get a beautiful trail to follow as I discover more about my Shepherd. He knows each sheep (you and me) very well and we know His voice. He lays down His life for His sheep. He’s the gatekeeper. No one goes in or out without His knowledge and approval. This gives me such security and helps me know what my Shepherd does a little bit better. I can continue on and follow the rabbit trail and learn even more if I dig up more scriptures, turn to a commentary or even put down the Bible and do an internet search about what shepherd life is like. You see? It’s okay in this instance to follow the trail. It will help you understand Jesus and His relationship with you better.

Reason #2. Stop! Write it in the Margins.

The past six weeks have been a whirlwind of medical appointments for my mom (who I care for), and weeks of viruses that beat me down. Staying in the Word was really a challenge, and days would go by without me sitting down and just soaking it up. One day I was feeling really overwhelmed, sad and frustrated and the Lord gathered me up and said, “Open up to the Psalms.” My Bible opened automatically to Psalm 23 (not a surprise), and I just exhaled and read. But what was precious to me in addition to this Psalm, is what I had written in the margins years before during another time. Those rambling thoughts, reined in and scribbled down in the margins, poured down spiritual nourishment on me and fed me with just the encouragement I needed to hear. These words were written at a time when I wasn’t overwhelmed and I could ponder and think. Now when I needed them, here they were, straight from the Lord and so comforting! So, stop and write as you read, take notes during a sermon or even doodle a truth. You’ll be coming back to it, and you will be blessed! I have this ESV Journaling Bible that has lined margins for notes and it’s really great. It’s the one in the pic.

Reason #3. Put it Down. Pray and Ponder, Send That Note

Have you ever been reading a passage and spontaneously you’re prompted to pray? Perhaps it’s a prayer of great need, or maybe a prayer of gratitude and worship, or maybe it’s intercession for someone in need. Go ahead and take that time to stop and engage with the Lord outside of His Word in prayer, worship and encouragement. Send a message or make that phone call to the person who needs to hear from you. It’s good, and it honors God when His Word moves you and you respond.

Reason #4. Stop and Grab Those Highlighters

“Wow! That’s a powerful truth that I need to remember. I’m going to memorize that,” you say. Perfect! Put down your Bible and grab your highlighters/pencils and underline or highlight the passage. Take a few minutes to drop it into your phone for memorizing or write it out on a card. Take those words of truth that have impacted you and don’t let them depart from your mind without holding onto them a bit longer. I have an index card with Hebrews 6:19 written on it, and I see that on my mirror every day. It’s been there for years and it reminds me of my anchor and hope as well as a precious gift of an anchor necklace that a friend gave me after serving many years together in ministry. If you want to highlight passages in your Bible, I like these Bible highlighters because they’re smooth and work well on Bible paper. They don’t bleed through.

One Final Reason (I know I said Four, but Hey, this is Good:)

One thing I did with my small pocket Bible is to trace a pathway to help me share the Gospel. I put a road map in my Bible for sharing scriptures that help a person understand four key truths: The truth about God (which shows our desperate need for redemption), the truth about sin (we’re not good–that’s why we need redemption), the truth about Jesus Christ (who He is and what He has done), and the truth about how we should respond. Each scripture from beginning to end walks through these four truths and is very logical and simple. I learned this method of sharing the Gospel through Bible Study Fellowship. But, being the forgetful person that I am, I knew I needed a tool to help me remember. So I marked all these scriptures in the margins of my Bible and devised a pathway to follow in order to share God’s words–not mine. I’ve used this with numerous people who have had questions that only scripture can truly answer. I’m adding this last point because you probably have your favorite way of sharing the Gospel and it might help you to stop, take a few minutes and prepare like I did.

I hope this helps you to see the value in putting on the brakes or following a prompting while you’re reading scripture. Sometimes it’s okay to let your mind wander or to put down your Bible mid-quiet time and pursue a thought or question. The Lord’s Word is living and active, as we should be also. God bless!

Want a little help with navigating the Bible? You might enjoy this post which includes a helpful printable.