You Can Understand God’s Word

Lakes Region church of Christ
4 days ago
2 min read

by David Rollert

A hand pointing at text in an open Bible on a wooden table. Warm and cool lighting highlights the pages, creating a focused, contemplative mood.

Many of us struggle with feelings of self-doubt and insecurity. These feelings impact many different areas of our lives. The area that we are going to discuss today is our Bible study.

We all know that God’s word is the final authority in religion. We all know that we need to spend time studying God’s word to grow closer to Him. However, feelings of self-doubt and insecurity can drive us to think that we are not able to study God’s word for ourselves. Maybe we feel like we are not smart enough to understand it. Maybe we struggle with academics, and we feel like studying is for people who read better. Maybe we simply have a nebulous feeling that we will fail, even if we don’t have any specific evidence that we will.

As a result, we may be tempted to only access God’s word through the filter of other people’s study. Reading books about the Bible rather than reading the Bible. Listening to podcasts or watching videos about the Bible rather than studying it ourselves. While these resources have their place, they are no substitute for personal study of God’s word.

Now, first we each need to realize that feelings of self-doubt and insecurity are common, many people have them. Second, we need to understand that those feelings don’t necessarily reflect reality accurately. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says this:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Notice that Jesus promises rest and comfort, not anxiety and overwhelm. When inspiring scripture, God utilized regular people who wrote in understandable ways. God wanted His word to be accessible and understandable (c.f. 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

So, rather than using books, podcasts, and videos about the Bible as our primary sources, let’s go directly to God’s word itself! You may have to put in a little more effort. You may have to devote a little more time. But you can STUDY God’s word yourself, and you can UNDERSTAND it for yourself. Don’t let feelings of self-doubt and insecurity prevent you from the blessing of getting to know God through His word