How to Start Reading the Bible: Story Time
Okay, so you probably know that we moved recently. And if you want the general story behind it, you can watch this vlog. But what you might not know is that pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
From crazy unexpected fees to finding squatters living in our house, the whole thing was just one big mess. Now, you may know that I’ve been slowly reintroducing faith into my life. I think when you’re doing anything risky, having faith is pretty much the only way to find sanity.
Without hope and faith, I am nothing.
That being said, I’ve never actually read the Bible. It intimidated me, and quite frankly I was embarrassed of my lack of Bible knowledge. Those things stopped me time and time again. But it’d been on my heart for some time to actually start reading it. I’d been faithfully listening to Rick Warren’s Daily Hope podcast for months. And while that was something, I knew without getting into the Word, it wasn’t enough.
Then, crazily enough,I listened to Emily Maynard’s I Said Yes. And she said something that stuck with me.
I started reading the Bible regularly that day. Not books about the Bible, not devotions quoting Bible passages, not blogs about the Bible — but the actual Word of God.
So there it sat, this desire to dive into the Word. But I was embarrassed to ask for help, to admit that I’d never done it before, and that I didn’t know anything about it. I had no idea where to start. So I just let the desire hang in the air. I knew eventually it would become clear.
As things started to fall to pieces around me with the move, I went into action mode. For every disaster, there was a point of contact. And each time, I noticed that the representative who stepped in to solve the issue was named Matthew. Not Matt. Matthew. This didn’t happen once or twice. It literally happened for every single disaster that needed solving.
Later, on a call with my mom, I shared my troubles and joked about all the Matthews. Then it hit me. Huh, I said to her. I wonder if that’s God’s way of telling me that I should start reading the Bible with the book of Matthew.
I left it alone. In the days that followed, I started to have downloading issues with the Daily Hope podcast. Frustrated, I just skipped that part of my day. It didn’t take long for me to notice a significant difference in how my day went though without putting God first. So the next morning, I opened my Bible to Matthew, and I started to read.
Now, those of you who are familiar with the Word of God, you know that Matthew is the start of the new testament, the birth of Jesus Christ.
Sadly, I did not know this. I was completely unaware of what I would find in the pages of Matthew. But unsurprisingly, I found the exact answers I was looking for.
As I dive into this journey, I’d like to share with you how I’m seeing God show up in my life. We all have our struggles, and God shows up differently for each of us. But sometimes we could all use the reminder that He is there, He hears us, and He only wants good for us.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks the door will be opened.
Matthew 7: 7-8
