“I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.” [Psalm 119:162]
ONE OF THE SKILLS my dad encouraged us to acquire as teens was speed-reading—a way to cover large amounts of material in a short amount of time. He was quick to suggest two things, however, that should never be read for speed: love letters and the Bible.
No one receiving a love letter would dream of hastily skimming through it. Instead, the recipient pores over its contents, reading and rereading it, searching between the lines for every nuance of meaning.
The Bible is a “love letter” of sorts, revealing God’s heart to us. And the more carefully, frequently, and thoughtfully we read it, the more we will be able to grasp His loving heart and intentions toward us.
The psalmist described God’s Word as being “more precious than gold, than much pure gold” (Ps. 19:10). No one walks down the street and stumbles onto vast stores of gold, any more than a person who hastily or casually reads the Word can expect to mine its deepest riches. Searching for and extracting gold from the earth requires enormous effort, time, and perseverance.
According to King Solomon, searching for biblical wisdom and insight is like looking for “hidden treasures” (Prov. 2:4). So when reading your Bible, pause frequently to meditate on its meaning, asking God to reveal the stores of treasure it contains. Absorb the Scripture into your system by pondering it, dwelling on it, going over it again and again in your mind, considering it from many different angles—until it becomes a part of you. Until you’ve seen “gold” shimmering there.
What do your reading, study, and meditation practices suggest about the value you place on God’s Word? Do you think of it as a love letter to be cherished, as gold worth searching and digging for? [The Quiet Place]
