Our world today is full of books, podcasts, and blogs sharing life hacks that let us in on secret shortcuts or tricks that will increase our productivity or efficiency. These life hacks cover everything from time management to personal finance to working out to anything you can think of.
Why?
Because our culture has become used to the instantaneous.
We can get packages delivered to our door in less than 2 days. We can order food at the click of a button. And we can share our thoughts with the world and get feedback instantly from people all over the world.
We have become accustomed to quick results with little effort. Unfortunately, this way of thinking can seep into the way we read the Bible too.
Today, it’s easier to scroll through social media, like an image of a Bible verse overlaying a mountain landscape, and feel like we interacted with scripture than it is to spend half an hour reading the Bible and actually becoming a more effective follower of Jesus.
Jesus Himself told us in John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
Jesus made it pretty clear when it comes to growing in our relationship with God, there are no life hacks.
William Wilberforce stated, “There is no shortcut to holiness, it must be the business of our whole lives.” There is only one way to grow and that is through abiding.
Abide in the Greek means to remain, stay, or dwell. So abide means to remain with Jesus.
The Bible is not something we can just scroll through and double-tap our favorite parts. It’s something we must read, study, and meditate on, and then let it transform our lives.
The world is becoming a darker place as time goes on. The uptick in violent crime as well as the weather changes and division in the Middle East is getting worse. With all that we need to gain an eternal perspective on life. What we read in scripture gives a grand narrative to our lives.
The Bible gives us the story of redemption and gives meaning and purpose to the world. When we see it that way, since creation, God has woven history together and cared for His people and kept His promises, it changes the way we view our current events.
There have been pandemics, elections, plagues, floods, racism, and civil unrest before, and every time God has been faithful. God has kept His promises.
While the world is falling apart, we don’t have to be. Because we know that God has proven Himself before, and He will prove Himself again.
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” -A.W. Tozer
That means we should do everything we can to have our view of God tethered to God’s Word and not our own imaginations.
The Bible is God’s divine revelation to His creation. It’s how He speaks to us. It is how He teaches us about who He is. Which means, if our goal is to have a real, personal connection with God, then it is only by immersing ourselves in His very words that we will grow in our understanding of who He is.
Spending time daily in God’s Word helps us tether our view to God to scripture. Not some version we have created for ourselves.
From Pity to Praise 