Do you have a case of scripture-stasis? You know that sense that you'd like to learn to spend time in God's Word but just feel a little stuck? It's incredibly common. I'd say it's one of the most common struggles I hear regarding growing with God. If that's you and you could use a little help, my top three tips are:

Just start!

Ten minutes, an hour, it doesn't matter. Just start. Don't wait until you have your schedule perfectly ironed out. Don't wait until you can guarantee you won't be interrupted—don't wait. If you never go, you can never grow. Just decide to spend some small amount of time in the Word every day. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just needs to happen. Maybe some days it's as simple as reading a quick Psalm, others perhaps you read a complete book like 2 or 3 John, or Jude. The point is, just start somewhere!

Read for understanding!

The Word of God is alive. It's an inspired, living piece of God Himself. As a result, He can use every single word contained with it to illuminate our minds. Sometimes, He'll illumine a particular verse that stands out to you. That's a divine gift, not to be overlooked or underestimated. That said, though, in most cases, it's important to read for understanding. In other words, you need to read the Word within the context it's intended. That's why reading the introduction preceding the books of the Bible is helpful. They help give you understanding. Another example is reading complete passages versus a singular sentence gives you a full understanding of the book's message. One practical way to think about this is through the analogy of a modern-day email message. Suppose I emailed you a great deal of information and instruction that you needed to successfully understand and perform your job. Imagine that you decided only to read the fourth sentence of the third paragraph yet expected to understand my message fully. It wouldn't happen! You need to read my entire message to fully understand what I wanted to communicate. Reading scripture is no exception. The authors have specific messages they intended to convey. A message that must be read in its entirety to understand fully.

Meditate!

The word "meditation" is often associated with the process of emptying your mind. Biblical meditation, however, has a far different meaning. It's the exact opposite. Rather than emptying your mind, you're filling it with the truth of scripture. Biblical meditation is the process of taking what you've read and considering it, reflecting upon it, as you continue about your day. It's the act of deliberately and intentionally focusing on the revelation of the holy scriptures. In Philippians 4:8, the apostle Paul lists things upon which believers are to "think." He uses a form of the word "logizomai," a Greek word found forty times in the New Testament that means "think [about], consider, ponder, let one's mind dwell on." ¹

The life of a believer is an ever-growing journey. Don't wait to run to God's Word. Simply start and trust the Holy Spirit to work powerfully through what you read.

¹W. Arndt, W. Bauer, and F. W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and the Early Christian Literature, Second Ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 476.