Imagine seeing a letter in your mailbox from someone who is absolutely crazy about you and who delights in simply being with you. You’d tear open the envelope and start reading it before you even look at your other mail, right?
Now, who came to your mind as the author of such a letter?
If it wasn’t God, why not?
Have you considered that God’s Word, the Bible, is the greatest love letter ever written to you? Or that this love letter will make little difference in your life if you don’t read it?
Not only does Scripture itself affirm the importance of reading it, but there are also some amazing discoveries from recent research about engaging with the Bible.
Engaging with the Bible Brings Hope
Not surprisingly, people who engage with the Bible have far more hope than others when dealing with the struggles of life. Research based on The Persevering Hope Scale, which was developed by researchers at five universities, reveals that those who scored highest in persevering hope “exhibited spiritual fortitude.” They were also less prone to depression and anxiety.
“And they flourished despite the struggles!” note the researchers.
The More You Engage with the Bible, the More You Flourish
According to Harvard University’s Human Flourishing Index, people who engage most with Scripture are the ones who flourish the most. As observed by the 2022 State of the Bible report, “They have a sense of purpose, are satisfied with their life, have close relationships, solid mental and physical health, and have a sense of character and virtue.”
Such people also make better neighbors: “They care for people in need. They take civic duty seriously. They realize they don’t know everything, and they admit that in conversation. They serve others in a variety of ways,” the report states.
The conclusion? The journey of Scripture engagement leads to flourishing.
“The survey results verify what the Bible leads us to expect,” says the 2023 State of the Bible report. “Those who practice their faith, engaging fully with God and God’s Word, transformed by that message—these people flourish like trees on a riverbank, they find delight in God’s presence, and they live their lives driven by God’s eternal purpose.”
If you’d like to take the flourishing test, it’s here.
Transformation Through the Power of Four
A key finding from the Center for Bible Engagement is that the lives of Christians who read the Bible fewer than four times a week are statistically the same as the lives of those are non-believers. However, someone who engages four times a week or more with the Bible is less likely to struggle with loneliness (30%), less likely to view pornography (59%), more likely to share faith with others (228%), and more likely to memorize scripture (407%).
So How Can You Engage with the Bible?
A sad statistic is that fewer than one in 10 Americans say they read the Bible daily, even though the Christian Bible is still the best selling book.
If you would like to engage more deeply with Scripture, here are seven suggestions to help you do just that.
1. Pray before you read. Ask God to speak to you through his Word so that you can understand and apply it to your life.
2. Let love frame your reading: God is crazy about you. He wants the best for you in every part of your life. He knows everything about you, and he wants you to know him through his Word. Everything in the Bible points to a person to be known—Jesus. It doesn’t matter how much you learn about God if you’re not connecting with him.
3. Plan for a time each day to read the Bible. Choose an “easy-to-read” time—preferably, one that can become a habit. Since I have a quiet cup of coffee every morning, I do my daily reading at that time.
4. Start with the Gospel of John and then read Mark, Luke, and Matthew. No matter where I am in my Bible journey, I also read from one of the gospels each day. And you don’t “have” to read a certain number of chapters. Some mornings, I read just a few verses and think deeply about them. Sometimes I’ll read through an entire book in one sitting.
5. Put your reading in context. Before you begin a book of the Bible, learn its shape and core themes from the brief Book Overview videos at Bible Project.
6. Refer to a good commentary for your questions. I recommend the study tools at Blue Letter Bible.
7. Interact with what you’ve read.
Here are three great questions to ask yourself about the passage you’re reading:
• What does it reveal about Jesus? • What can I learn about God’s kingdom purposes from it? • How does it relate to my loving God and my loving others as God loves me?
I keep a daily journal in which I write what I hear from God and my prayer back to him. If you’d like to use it, you can download the journal pages as a PDF. You might also check out my Top Ten verses from Scripture about Scripture.
As you travel your own journey of Scripture engagement, may you increasingly know the true God who works for you, in you, and through you and who gives you an identity in Jesus that has purpose and hope.
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