Reading the Bible in the Right Mind

I was talking to a new believer who has been reading through the Bible starting with Genesis. He noted the difficulty in figuring out what it was telling him to do. He is a rational thinker, a high achiever, and a hard worker. He was looking for instructions, steps, and actions to take. He was discouraged. He was reading and praying but not finding any practical application in his new walk. Many people dismiss the Bible for that very reason. It just doesn’t jive with their rational minds. In my therapy/coaching practice I’ve noticed that most people are looking for rational answers to the problems of life, even Christians, myself being one of the worst of the worst, always want to know what we can do to fix a certain problem. But it doesn’t work that way.

A.W. Tozer said, “The rationalist takes the position that the human brain alone is the organ of knowledge, but they either forget, or overlook completely that feeling is a measure of knowledge, and so is faith.”

And thus we must consider a new kind of knowledge that perhaps our anxiety in life is driving us to acquire.

If I were going to read a book in order to learn something I would first ask the question, “What is this book supposed to be about?” If someone were to ask me what the Bible was all about I would let them know that essentially the Bible is a book about God. It is a survey of God’s redemptive work in humanity. We would also take notice of what it is not and that is that the Bible is not an instruction book that says “do this”, or “do that,” The exception is when Paul is instructing the church and the people of the church regarding appropriate practice and relationships. So as we pick up our Bible let’s first know what is and what is not before we place undue expectations on it and dismiss it because it does fit into our small rational mind’s box. After all, a book about God is initially going to be content far beyond our understanding. How many have started off eager to learn and explore their faith only to struggle at reading the Bible, never knowing that their mindset all along was restricting the flow of “knowledge.”

The truth about the Bible is that it is indeed instructional but in a spiritual nature, not rational. It is an engagement tool for a human to encounter a living God who desires to reveal himself and his truth to us.

So in that way, it is instructional, but God does not want to simply provide us with information to take with us on our journey and proceed to carry on in our lives as if we are the ones in control. Instead, God desires for us to know him and be in a relationship with him. Reading the Bible is essentially an attempt to get to know someone new, not simply to know about someone.

God is Spirit (John 4:24) and therefore He only interacts within the spirit (Watchman Nee). If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear” (Mark 4:23). We need faith to begin to understand the Bible and experience God through our interaction with it. Not much, but we need some, and that faith is found in ensuring that our core desire when opening the Bible is not to gain knowledge per se, but to “Find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:1–5).

With all of this being said, it seems to me that one of the central truths of the Bible’s instruction to us is spiritual in nature. It is understood through the lens of faith and specifically instructs us to be faithful. That is the central instruction, or truth for believers, and implies what some may find offensive or troublesome, which is essentially, that we can do nothing to fix our problem. We can seek God, and we can learn to know God, but we won’t find in our Bibles instructions for how to fall asleep when our minds are racing, we won’t find in our Bibles how to fix our marriages, and we won’t find in our Bibles techniques for accomplishing our life’s dreams or finding a good job.

The problem is that for many of us, the central focus of our lives is tasks and circumstances. What do I need to do to survive? The problem with that focus is that we are misdirected from what should grasp our attention, which is the spiritual side of things. The circumstances of our lives are part of a much bigger story, written and driven by a creator. So we need to direct our focus on knowing God. So the answer in times of trouble, the answer in times of anxiety, is not found in figuring out what to do, though that may come, rather, the truth is, we should seek the knowledge of God in those moments; personally and relationally. We take the anxiety, and we relate to God through that anxiety, and we are drawn closer to him in his presence, which then makes approaching the circumstance clearer because our faith grows, the realization that God is in control will grow, and the truth that we can do nothing becomes more apparent. We are humbled at our powerlessness, and at the same time, comforted by the fact that God is working, and we can trust him. We can trust Him because we know Him. We have confidence then, “That in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

The problems we have that are reflected in our experiences and circumstance are essentially spiritual ones. We must deal with our problems in the spiritual realm. The curse has taken our eyes off the spirit, which is unfortunate. But the Holy Spirit awakens that which is in us that is dead. And as he gets the engine going, as the spirit of God fuels our internal experience we begin to seek. If this is you, then you have heard his voice. And if this is you don’t harden your heart (Hebrews 3:7–8). You may be like a boxer, knocked out, barely hearing the referee counting; and he may be at six, seven, or eight, but it’s not too late. Be energized by that which is in you, calling you to connect to him who gives life. He is desiring to tap a well within your spirit and provides the living water (John 4:14), A well that never runs dry.

Jesus is not offering a coping tool or instructional class that forces you into developing a simple healthy habit that needs to be repeated over and over again. No, he is offering a life inside that naturally helps us confront and experience this world. A life that is the life of Christ (Galatians 2:20) that allows us to know him. And that is the foundation that we should seek because without that foundation we find ourselves in a rabbit hole, chasing dopamine fixes, YouTube videos, blogs, and self-help books trying to find our answers. But this search is likened to shopping for tires at Macy’s; It doesn’t exist there.

So what should we do? Love God. The Lord says in Psalm 91, “Because he loves me, I will rescue him. I will protect him because he acknowledges my name. He will call out to me and I will answer him. I will be with him in times of trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” But how do we love someone we don’t know?

God’s book tells us what He will do when we seek him as “the” answer in our lives. But the question for each one of us remains; Are we self-aware enough to see our tendency to ruminate, scroll, and google for answers? Do we see our tendency to call 15 friends and survey them for what we should do? If you can see that inside of yourself, then stop. Even for a few minutes stop because, “There is a place where the mind quits trying to figure out on its own way, and throws itself wide open to God. And the shining glory of God comes down into the waiting life and imparts an activity.“ AW Tozer, Faith Beyond Reason.

In the long run, our problems are not too big for a God who demonstrated his love for us and endured the cross, but they are too big for us to figure out and solve. Oh, we might be able to change our minds about things and even change our circumstances, but without the power of God, we have no power to change our life. The problem will just rear its ugly head down the road. But when we realize that all of our problems are spiritual in nature, and we make the decision to seek Him who is “the answer,” we will not only find out what to do, but we will find that we don’t have to do the heavy lifting in the first place. Our doing will be in faith, After all, it’s Him who does all the work anyways. He parts the waters, we just need to walk.

So pick up your Bible and intend on getting to know God. Start anywhere, and that beautiful interconnected text will lead you to the most glorious representation of love to have ever been acted out. The cross of Jesus Christ, the greatest act of love done for you and me. And when we understand and accept what he has done for us we want nothing more than to get to know Him. Our desire to get to know him will not only overshadow all of our problems in life, but it will provide meaning and purpose to all of our problems in life and circumstances. Then suddenly the story of the Bible, the story of redemption, becomes our story. And the life of Christ lives on and lives in us. Let him show you what he can do, then take your hands off the reins and just let him do it.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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