Revealed Understanding :: Deeper Devotion

by Tim Wade

Luke 24:45
“Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

Have you ever wondered why when some people pick up their Bible they read it and get so much out of it while others don’t see a thing but words on a blank page? I must confess that there are times when I simply read my Bible and I walk away feeling the same as when I picked it up a half hour before. There are no bells, no whistles, no flashing lights, just words on a page.

But most of the time the Bible comes alive when I read it. The words of the Old and New Testaments practically jump off the pages as verse upon verse is revealed to me. I read the sacred words and crave more. I become amazed at the simple reality that unfolds before my very eyes and sing praises to God, thanking Him that He was willing to give me, of all people, the revelation of His word. So why the difference? I believe the answer is whether or not the heart of the reader is ready, willing, and able to receive the revelation of God.

People read the Bible for different reasons. Some look to the Bible for an approval of their own agenda. They specifically look for a verse to tell them what they want to hear. Others read it for a few minutes hoping something will jump off the page at them, but give up when God doesn’t show up. Some read it out of obligation, while still others read their Bibles to find fault with it and God. I know these things to be true as I have tried them all at different points in my life.

When you seek God without an agenda and do it prayerfully He will open your mind to understanding His scripture. But when reading the Bible is reduced to an obligation or an agenda no room is left for the truth of the word to fill us. We read the scriptures in faith, believing that they are the authoritative word of God, but when we approach them with our own agenda we begin our quest in the Holy Scriptures from a position of doubt. In essence such a person is declaring God incapable of revealing Himself through His word that is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

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