Reading the Word of God with consistency is one of the greatest challenges that most believers face. While there may be an initial enthusiasm that motivates a certain level of determination and discipline, the average end result is the same: what we have begun to set out to achieve, we have not continued unto its completion. Why is this the case? Peering into God's word itself, we can uncover multiple principles which progress our capacity to train our minds in desire and discipline necessary to be consistently in the Word of God.

The first principle to consider is this: we pursue only that which we truly desire, and we desire only that which we find valuable. If any person were challenged to fast for a great length of time, there might be an initial willingness to do so. As time progressed, however, the human body would begin screaming and writhing in desperation. Eventually, the hunt for sustenance would progress from a casual afterthought to a dominating and frenzied pursuit. This would be unsurprising because we understand that the body needs food to maintain its energy to survive. At its base level, we could say that the pursuit of food is motivated by a desire to continue living because we highly value being alive.

The reality we must confront ourselves with is that typically we neither desire nor value that which God offers.

Set before every believer is the reality that in His grace, God offers us the first-fruits of the resurrection by making available to us the presence of His own Spirit within our bodies. The same power that can overcome physical death is set within our bones, available through faith. We have access into the presence of the Most High God. What's more is that the connection to this life, this power, this freedom, is explicitly stated to be dependent on our connection to Christ through His Word! John 15 is clear in its statement. Fruitful branches are those which are connected to the vine that is Christ, and that connection is deeply related to whether or not God's word abides in our hearts.

Abide. It is such a powerful word. Abiding in the word (and the word abiding in you) does not simply mean that word of God has been read, understood, or processed. It means that God's word has been integrated into the very essence of your personality. It means that His word takes residence in your mind (as the young ones say "it lives rent free in your head"). The duality of the abiding (God's word abiding in you and you abiding therefore in His word) means two things. First, to abide in His word is to have a distinct familiarity and comfort in God's word, such that you can navigate it freely and recall it without external reference (no one needs a picture of their own house to describe it or understand its layout). That you treat God's word as the place of rest for your soul, the place of return from your adventures out, the place where you are relaxed and most yourself; this is what is meant by abiding in His word. But for His word to abide in you is to have the reciprocal relationship. Your own heart should have no barriers or hidden parts to God's word. There should be no piece of your soul that is untouchable or unreachable to His probing word. Nothing about yourself should be hidden before Him, but should rather sit freely open to His examination and correction. This is what His word abiding in you is all about. His word resides as the owner of your heart, free to do as He will with it.

But we don't enter into this relationship with His word. We are too afraid to be probed or else too distracted to care. Ultimately, at the deepest level, we find that we simply do not comprehend, nor value that which is being offered when God says to us that we have everlasting life and resurrection power available to us. We would rather have our physical appetites satisfied, our self-esteems boosted by affirmations, our struggles mediated by conveniences, or our discomfort masked by entertainment. To truly live in the power of Christ neither makes sense, nor seems appealing because we are too wrapped up in ourselves.

This is a precarious spot to find our hearts in. Where can the value of what God has offered us be truly comprehended and appreciated? Only in a direct and personal view of the cross. As we gaze upon its wonder, we must wrestle with what is being communicated on the cross. There is an insurmountable cost for which we must conclude we cannot pay for ourselves. There is an unimaginable power for which we must conclude we cannot fabricate by our own means. There is an immensity of love for which we must conclude we have no comprehension nor experience with. There is a gravity of glory displayed for which we must conclude as being worthy of our full determination and discipline.

Do you want to have bible verses in your memory? Do you want to sacrifice time and energy for focused study on the bible? Do you want to read and re-read the same book everyday? No? That's fine, because those questions aren't deep enough to address that which you desire. 

Do you want to know Christ and the power of His Spirit? Do you want to experience in your soul what is meant by being a partaker of Christ's divine nature? Do you want comprehend God's character clearly, free of the deceptive ideologies of your flesh, the world, and the devil? Yes? Then there is only one choice, and that is to embrace the desperation born of understanding the necessity of God's word in your life.

There is an experience for which we are hopefully all familiar. One which is simultaneously humbling and encouraging. It is that distinct moment of clarity which occurs when you have finally comprehended some topic of study which has been eluding your grasp. Within the experience is the satisfaction of having learned, the relief of having progressed through your incomprehension, and the humble realization that your understanding was imperfect and limited. It is that experience of obtaining understanding. You could say, it is the delight of learning simply for the sake of learning.

But perhaps this experience is not as universal as I have made it out to be. Perhaps yours is another experience. Perhaps yours is an experience of continual frustration and misunderstanding. Repeated attempts at developing your academic acumen have only left you embittered to the whole process of learning.

Well to both parties, there is an exhortation.

For those who appreciate learning and are driven by a desire to obtain knowledge for knowledge's sake, remember this. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. There is a spirit of learning which is necessary when approaching the Word of God and it is not a spirit of pursuit unto personal validation of your intelligence, nor is it a spirit of  curiosity seeking novel and fresh intellectual stimulation. No, it is a spirit of submission to the Spirit of God and His teaching. We are not those seeking to learn simply for the sake of learning. We are those in pursuit of the intimate knowledge of a God who has communicated to us through His Word.

For those who despise or are otherwise disillusioned by the experience of learning, remember this. God Himself is your teacher. Any previous lack of comprehension is irrelevant to the work of the Spirit in illuminating your mind to what God says in the Word. Jesus' words in Matthew 11 remind us that He alone knows the Father, and that He extends an invitation to learn from Himself, because He is a lowly and gentle teacher. We need not fear the pursuit of knowledge, because our teacher is divinely gentle and kind, ready to bring clarity into our confusion.

So then, what is the first and most important principle to consider in our pursuit of a deeper knowledge of God through His Word? It is the cultivation of that necessary attitude of purposeful dependence upon the Spirit and humble submission to the leading of the Spirit. Cultivating this mindset is not something that be accidentally stumbled upon. We have to understand where the Spirit is leading in order to follow Him.

Beautifully, there is a great simplicity to following the Spirit, because the Spirit has a singular focus -- the Man, Jesus Christ. The work of the Spirit to those who believe on Christ is to increase the understanding of the Person of Christ, to declare His work and the benefits that have been granted because of it, and to empower the appropriation of His own nature unto all who receive Him. In short, what the Spirit wants you to comprehend as you open the Word of God is this: The Bible is all about Jesus.

There is no other lens to read scripture through. Only by viewing the scripture through Christ can true understanding be obtained. The Word is not primarily about moral instruction, historical narrative, or religious engagement. This cannot be overstated: The Word of God is not about you. It is about God's progressive revelation and fulfillment of the promise of Christ, and your participation in the plan He has of elevating Christ above all things in order that all things will be united in Him.

May we be submitted to the Spirit by prayerfully and intentionally remaining focused on Christ as the exclusive revelation of God and the superlative purpose of all of His plans.