How many times have you read something and not understood what you just read? That has happened to me countless times. In school, I would finish reading a section of a textbook and think, “What did I even read? That made no sense!” So I would reread it and study until I could make sense of it. Many of us have had a similar experience with the Bible. We read a passage, stop, and think, “What?!”

There is a difference between reading Scripture and studying Scripture. Reading helps us become familiar with God’s Word, and studying helps us understand it more deeply. Let’s go back to Monday’s Scripture, Psalm 1:2. That verse says that the person who delights in God’s Word “meditates on it day and night.” Meditating on and studying Scripture involves more than quickly reading a verse and moving on. It means slowing down, thinking about what it says, and asking God to help us understand what He is teaching us.

Think about it this way. When we eat dinner, we don’t just glance at our food and move on. We take time to eat it, chew it, and let it nourish us. Studying the Bible is similar. We take time to think about what we’re reading and let the truth of God’s Word sink in.

Today, when you open your Bible, try asking these questions:

1. Who wrote this book? Who was it written to? What is happening in it?
2. What does this passage actually say? (Don’t forget to read the verses around it. The verses before and after can help you understand its meaning.)
3. What is this Scripture teaching me about God?
4. How should this Scripture change the way I live?

Here are some online tools to help you dig deeper into Scripture and study His Word:

1. BibleProject: This site is a helpful resource for understanding the big picture of each book of the Bible.
2. Got Questions: This site is a resource for exploring questions about the Bible or a specific passage you are studying.
3. Bible Gateway: This site is a tool for reading Scripture in different translations, which can help you understand a passage more clearly.
4. Blue Letter Bible: This site is a resource for digging deeper into specific verses with study tools and commentaries.

I hope you feel encouraged and challenged to study God’s Word. You don’t have to tackle a whole chapter at once. Start with one verse and spend some time studying it. Read it more than once, read the verses before and after it, ask questions, and pray. Use the resources above when you need help. Take your time with Scripture. God is worth knowing more deeply, and His Word is worth the time it takes to study.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank you for giving us Your Word. Help us slow down enough to really study and understand it. Give us hearts to be curious, ask questions, and to dig for the answers. Help us to understand Your Word and apply it to our lives. Help us never stop learning and growing in You. May Your Word nourish us each and every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.