Can't or Don't?

Women frequently confide, "Rachel, I know God wants me to spend time reading the Bible but I just can't seem to make that happen regularly. Do you have any advice for me?"

My response is usually to smile knowingly, because I 've been there.

And then to ask, "Can't or don't?"

It's a good question to ask yourself anytime you are not making progress in an area you need or want to excel in.

There is usually a long pause ... followed by a knowing smile on their end.  Or else, a list of reasons/excuses.

The reality is we make time for stuff all the time. It's a priority thing.

Next I suggest the Nike slogan - you know the one.

Sometimes I give them ideas to help with motivation and commitment. For instance, "Pick out a big jar candle you think smells good and burn it each time you do your quiet time.  It will become a visual reminder to do it, and a visual indicator of how much time you are spending in the Word."

Often I tell them to pray for insight before they begin reading.  Or to journal their favorite verses, record their questions for God, or write out their prayers. Writing really helps the wandering mind. And those prone to fall asleep. Not that that's you or me, of course.

But really, the first step is just to start showing up for it. You can't learn or experience anything if you don't show up for class. You can't deepen a relationship if you rarely get together.

In my life, the more I show up to spend between the Bible's pages, the more desire I have to do so. And the more I get out of it. No, I don't get mind-bending insights each and every time, but that's why my first suggestion is to adopt the Nike slogan.

Just do it.  Do it anyways, trusting that at some future point it will tie in and make sense. Because God has said His Word is living, active and not void. His Word can and does.