Why read the Bible? “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Apostle Paul’s list is focused on change. He’s telling us that when we approach Scripture we must expect to be challenged, corrected and molded into something new.
Sounds good, right? Well…maybe. Though “correction and instruction are the way to life” (Proverbs 6:23), most of us have an intense dislike when it comes to being rebuked. Being corrected isn’t exactly comfortable, either!
Yet what Paul says is true: Unless we’re already perfect, reading Scripture will sometimes be more of a challenge than a comfort. When we pick up the Bible, we need to recognize two things:
- First, God himself has breathed into the words of what we are about to read, and we should approach it as holy ground. It is a sacred privilege to have access to the Word of God.
- Second, if we approach Scripture with a mind that’s open to correction, we are more likely to understand God’s will. We are far more likely to start asking the kinds of questions that allow us to draw closer to God.
The Bible is full of anecdotes about people who ask the wrong question. There’s the story of the Pharisees who try to trap Jesus, asking whether or not to pay taxes. Christ reframes their inquiry and highlights the real issue: allegiance (Matthew 22:15-22). The Sadducees ask about a woman whose husband — and six subsequent husbands—die without producing an heir. “At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” the Sadducees ask. Jesus responds, ‘Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?’” (Mark 12:23-24).
The problem with asking the wrong question is that you’re almost certainly going to get the wrong answer. A family member gets sick and you ask, “Why, God? Why us?’ A financial or emotional setback comes and you ask, “When will I get my life back, God?”
The problem with a faith question that replays itself frequently in our heads is that our hearts may stop listening for the will of God and start listening for an answer to that specific question. That’s when it’s time to switch our approach and pray for insight. Like Solomon, we can ask, “Give me wisdom and knowledge” (2 Chronicles 1:10).
Emotions are important, but too much focus on our feelings can divert our attention from God’s will. Consider Cain (Genesis, chapter 4), whose wounded pride and misplaced sense of injustice deafened him to God’s words of reassurance. The outcome of that story serves as a painful reminder that “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (verse 6).
It’s not always easy finding the right questions to ask, and it’s certainly far from simple to place faith over feelings. But if we gladly take up the work of seeking God’s will in all things, we will make progress. And the Bible will be our roadmap—and our answer.
