What do you do when you don’t feel like reading the Bible?
Have you ever had a day like that? I have.
I don’t like it, but sometimes an attitude of spiritual lethargy can dominate my mind and heart. And there’s no other way to describe it – there are times when I have little or no desire to read the Bible and commune with God.
Then what? What do you do when this is how you feel?
Let me ask you another question. Have you ever had a day when you didn’t want to go to work? The alarm clock goes off and you have no gas in the tank. You don’t want to do anything but nothing. So you continue to lie there. Maybe you go back to sleep. Or maybe you stumble out of bed and get that first cup of coffee and do what it takes to get the motor going.
I would guess that most of the time, when you don’t feel like going to work, you end up going anyway. And after you get there and start working, you’re fine. It just took a little longer that day to warm up to the idea of working.
I think the same principle applies in the spiritual realm. Feelings are so fickle. If I acted on my feelings all the time, what a mess I would make of my life!
So here’s my answer to the question, “What do you do when you don’t feel like reading the Bible?”
Read it anyway.
“But,” some would say, “if my heart isn’t in it, won’t I be sinning against God?”
Perhaps.
But here’s what usually happens to me. If I don’t want to read the Word, but start doing it anyway, within a few minutes my attitude begins to change, and I find myself having the desire that was missing just moments before. Before long I am enjoying myself and experiencing intimacy with my Father.
How about you? Has this ever happened to you?
The other thought that comes to mind on this topic is this: When you don’t feel like reading the Bible, start praying about that. Confess it to God. Cry out to Him for forgiveness and ask Him to change your attitude and renew your desire. Do you think the Creator of the universe is capable of doing that? I believe so!
Here’s a great prayer for times like this:
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:10-12).
Go to Psalm 51 and make this prayer your own. And guess what – you are now reading the Word, pouring out your heart to the lover of your soul, and entering the presence of King Jesus. How fortunate we are that He rules the universe and our lives from a throne of grace.
Does anything I’ve written here resonate with you? If so, let me know with a comment below. I welcome your feedback.
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