Are you among the millions who rely on their daily cup of coffee? Do you find yourself sluggish, grumpy, or generally unpleasant without it? For many, it is as if they cannot even function if they do not get their daily fix. Coffee lovers crave it; they must have it. They will go out of their way to get it, will not let anyone or anything keep them from drinking it, and will even spend hundreds—if not thousands—of dollars a year to have it. Why? The answer is fairly simple: They are addicted to it and have made it a necessary part of their lives.
Let us imagine the effect it would have on the world if Christians would treat their personal Bible study as they do their morning cup of coffee! What if we were so addicted to the Word of God that we could not function without it? What if it were evident to others when we did not have our daily fix?
Job treated God’s Word in such a manner. Job 23:12 says, I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Job was saying that the Word of God was vitally important to him. How did we go from people being like Job, who valued God’s Word above his daily meals, to today’s Christians who value a cup of coffee more than they value God’s Word?
Unfortunately, we have allowed the value of personal Bible study to be diminished by irrational excuses. We claim that we are too busy and do not have enough time to read the Bible. After all, we work 8-12 hours per day. Our forefathers spent more time reading the Bible than they did reading any other book, yet they had no modern conveniences and no electricity. In fact, many were uneducated. Our forefathers cherished the Word of God and based every aspect of their lives upon its principles. Today, however, even with all of our conveniences, we cannot seem to find the time to spend in God’s Word.
We also tend to excuse our lack of personal Bible study with our church attendance. Because we go to church, we seem to think that we do not need to study the Bible on our own. Going to church is wonderful. In fact, we are commanded not to forsake going to church (Hebrews 10:25); however, going to church is no substitute for our personal relationship with the Lord. Prayer is us talking to God, but Bible study is God talking to us. A proper relationship involves both talking and listening. When we read our Bible, we are allowing God to talk to us. It is rude for us to do all of the talking but to never stop to listen. We can improve our relationship with the Lord and grow as Christians by reading the Bible.
If a doctor must read and study medical books to succeed in his profession, then it makes sense that a Christian must read and study the Word of God in order to succeed in his profession. In II Timothy 2:15, we see that God instructs us to Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. It should be our greatest desire to be approved unto God, but unless we study and rightly divide the Word of truth, that is an impossibility.
If we truly love the Lord (the way most people love coffee), we will want to hear from Him on a daily basis. Imagine a husband and wife only speaking to each other occasionally. A marriage without daily communication will not last very long. Just as we make provision for our daily cup of coffee, we need to make our personal Bible study a necessary part of our day. We need to be so dependent upon it that we will not be able to function properly without it, nor will we let anything prevent us from having it. It is amazing how we seem to find time to do the things that we enjoy, such as watching TV, reading a book, scrolling through social media, shopping, or even drinking that cup of coffee. Why do we not start enjoying spending time with the Lord? If we actually enjoy it, we will be sure to make time for it. As a thought, we could always read our Bible while enjoying that daily cup of coffee. Psalm 1:2 says, But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. If we start delighting in God’s Word, it will become necessary! We will need to have our daily fix!
by Crystal Collingsworth