Discipline in the Word
Have you ever read the Bible completely through? Statistics show that most Christians have not. Many begin but become overwhelmed at the task—that’s 1189 chapters and 31,102 verses! Actually, it is not as daunting as it may seem. You can read the Bible through in a year by committing 20 minutes of your time each day and reading only four chapters or less.
Our knowledge of the Scriptures can be extremely beneficial when facing adversity, but we will not have this knowledge if we have not first disciplined ourselves to study the Word of God. We have heard people say, “Pray the scripture when faced with trying situations.” This is impossible to do if we have not first committed those scriptures to memory. If there are certain areas of our life that seem to frustrate us more than others, we can find scriptures that relate to that subject and memorize them. You can start out by writing these verses on a card and placing them where they are visible every day. Once you have the verses in your mind, you can quote them on a regular basis so that they are not soon forgotten. The Bible is a source of wisdom and principles that guide us and give us an insight into life that is not available anywhere else.
The Bible, however, is more than just a source of information. It goes far beyond that. There is a transforming effect through the Word of God: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). This illumination does not just come from the principles of the Word, but from the power of God. By hiding the Word in our hearts, we plug into an eternal viewpoint of life that raises the vision from the problems of today and ennobles the Spirit.