Daily Bible Study is an important contentment principle as it allows us to be in God’s presence. While reading God’s Word, the Bible, we learn more about Him. And we can obtain instructions about how to live this life. If needed, we can receive discipline to correct our mistakes. God wants us to stay on the path He designed for us. To stay on His path, we need to be reading, studying, and memorizing the Bible.
Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” The Hebrew word for acknowledge is yada, which means to know, learn to know, consider, and recognize. In everything we do, we know that the Lord is with us and that we can trust Him (That is reiterated in vs. 5 when Solomon tells us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts). This word is an imperative meaning it is said as a command. We must consider what God wants us to do. When we do that, our pathways will be straight or level. Why? Because we are doing God’s plan instead of going off the path in the wrong direction.
Daily Bible Study: Presence of the Lord
In the Bible, the word presence references being in God’s presence. God created us in His image and put His breath into man. I like how Genesis 2:7 says God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” As the creator of everything, He spoke it all into existence. And then his breath is what gave man life.
In the Garden of Eden, God was in their presence daily. Genesis 3:8 says,
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:8 ESV
Shortly after this verse, God learns that Adam and Eve had eaten from the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. And they were expelled from the garden and out of the Lord’s physical presence. This changed their relationship with a holy God. Because of man’s sinfulness, he could no longer physically be in God’s presence. This is why those who have not believed in God and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior are unable to spend eternity with God in heaven (2 Thessalonians 1:9 ESV).
However, not being in God’s presence physically didn’t change His desire to have us be in His Presence daily and virtually. In a day of technology and virtual meetings, it dawned on me that God has been doing virtual conversations, most of the time without video on, for centuries!
Benefits of His Presence
What are the benefits of daily Bible study and being in His Presence?
The Psalms give us great information about these benefits. This one is a favorite of mine.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11 ESV
David tells us in this Psalm that God lets us know the path of life. And we have the fullness of joy in His presence. On earth, the right-hand place is one of favor, honor, and security (David Guzik, Commentary on Psalm 16). Do Bible verses ever make you feel all warm inside? This one does that for me. Because I am in His presence, I have full joy and am secure!
The next verse is similar to this one.
For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
Psalm 21:6 ESV
When we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are blessed forever. In heaven, we get to spend time in God’s presence! And then David repeats how we can have joy from being in His presence.
The last verse is from Acts. Peter is speaking to men who were astonished about his healing a lame man by speaking Jesus’ name. He spoke to them about how they gave a murderer over in Jesus’s place so He would be crucified. But the suffering of Christ was prophesied and was fulfilled. He told them to:
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.
Acts 3:19-20 ESV
What I like about these verses in Acts is that when they repent and receive forgiveness, they will have times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Time of refreshing, so comforting, and fulfilling.
How often should we be in His Presence?
After the Israelites were released from bondage in Egypt and were in the wilderness, God gave them the daily provision of bread. Prior to going to the promised land, Moses gave them the laws and the ten commandments. And He let them know that they need more than daily bread. They needed to live on God’s Word.
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3 ESV
In Psalms, we learn that we need to spend time with him continually.
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Psalm 105:4 ESV
Since we have lives to live each day, how can we be in His presence continually? I think the greatest commandment that the Lord gave in Deuteronomy speaks to this. It is a passage that is known as the Shema Prayer, which is recited by Jewish people today.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ESV
When we love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, He is our everything, and we want to be with Him as much as possible and for eternity.
Following these two verses, Moses gives examples of how they should do this. God’s words are to be on their hearts, taught diligently to their children, and talk about them throughout the day – rising, walking, and lying down. It is carried with them on their wrist or their foreheads. It was like a wristband or headband (they called them frontlets), worn during prayer. These frontlets had a little pieces of parchment paper with sentences of the law written on them. They were literally taking God’s Word with them when they prayed! Lastly, they were to have God’s Word on the doorpost of their house or their gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
Daily Bible Study: The WORD of the Lord
When we talk about studying the Bible, we often refer to it as God’s Word or the Word of the Lord. God called His laws, commands, and statutes His words throughout scripture. It was how God communicated to us throughout history. There were also visions, dreams, and spoken words of God in Scripture, however, that is a topic for another time.
Why should we do daily Bible study of His Word?
We learned that God wants us to be in His presence. But why do we need to do it daily? Can’t we read His Word once and be done? Well- it doesn’t work that way. And because we are forgetful and even stubborn, we need to re-read it several times. Here are three reasons why we should study it.
1. Reading Becomes Doing
Think about young children or learning a new hobby. The repetition is important. Repeating it helps us learn it better. And if we are learning a hobby, craft, or musical instrument, the more we do it, the better we become at it. As a Christian, the more I read God’s Word, the more I become like Him.
But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
Deuteronomy 30:14 ESV
When we continue to read His Word and spend time in it, we will echo these same sentiments of the Psalmist.
I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Psalm 119:16 ESV
2. Know and Fear Him
It helps me to know and fear Him more. He is the LORD God who created the heavens and the earth. As the sovereign ruler over all of the earth, He knows exactly what you or I are doing at the same time. That is amazing and mind-boggling all at the same time!
And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them. Deuteronomy 17:19 ESV
3. Obedience Reaps Rewards
God warned the people that they needed to obey the words that He has given them. However, obedience reaps rewards.
Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 12:28 ESV
Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do. Deuteronomy 29:9 ESV
It will go well with us because we are obeying. And the opposite of that is disobedience. When we disobey, there are consequences. Those consequences go along with the sin. If the person commits a crime, there will be fines and possibly jail time. It makes sense that if a person is obeying God and doing what is right in His sight, then life will be good and we will even prosper in all we do. In fact, the Psalmist calls us blessed when we walk according to God’s laws. We do this by living a life that is wholesome and according to His truth.
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Psalm 119:1 ESV
How Does God’s Word Help Us?
Besides doing daily Bible study, there are four ways that God’s Word helps us.
1. Delight in His Words
What is your favorite sweet? Is it cake 🍰 , ice cream 🍨 , or your favorite cookies? 🍪 Cake isn’t a draw to me – maybe it is because of the extra sweet frosting. If I had ice cream or my favorite cookie in front of me, it would be a hard choice. But if a large chocolate chip cookie had just come out of the oven, that would be my first choice! The ooey-gooey goodness of the chocolate oozing out of the cookie would be amazing!
Listen to how the Psalmist explains the words of God in the Bible.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103 ESV
Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Honey is so sweet. Sugar can be addictive and hard to eliminate from the diet. But it tastes good! We need to crave God’s words so much that it is sweeter than honey. Whenever we meet with God and have our quiet time to spend reading His Word, the words will soak into our souls and revive us. They will cause us to delight in His words, and we will want to spend more time with Him again.
2. Lights our Path
Flashlights 🔦 are needed whenever we visit our favorite Bible camp in Iowa. When you leave the chapel and head to your cabin, the darkness has closed in, and it is hard to see your steps ahead. The flashlight can be pulled from your backpack and used to light the way ahead so you don’t step in a hole or trip over items that could be in your way.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 ESV
God’s Word lights our way and gives us direction, one step at a time.
3. Guards our purity & Prevents potential sin
At times we can be tempted to do things that are unholy or not part of His plan for us. When we come upon things that seem enticing to us, we need to rely on the words that God has given us in His Word.
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:9-11 ESV
These verses tell us how God’s Word can help us in situations where we could potentially sin. We need to put up guardrails so that in situations of temptation, we can keep our lives clean from sin. His commandments must be followed as we seek Him with our whole hearts. And we need to memorize scripture so it will help us when we are tempted. Will this keep us from sinning? No. Verse 11 says ‘that I might not sin against you.’ We need to remain vigilant in keeping our hearts focused on only God and have His words stored up in our hearts so we can bring them to mind at a moment’s notice to rescue us from committing sin. It can be used as a defensive weapon to derail the enemy in His attacks against us. We know this by this verse in Ephesians.
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Ephesians 6:17b
4. Gives us Hope
There is hope in His Word! We can wait on Him and have hope for what is ahead.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.
Psalm 130:5 ESV
We know His character of steadfast love and faithfulness. And we know how He has made promises in His Word for caring and protecting Israel and those promises have been fulfilled. And we have seen Him do the same for us as well. His Word gives us hope so we can move forward through our trials and be blessed by how He shows up for us.
Daily Bible Study Summary
There are so many great scriptures about daily Bible study and how it helps us get closer to God, knowing how to live and helps us in many ways. I could have written about many more! But here is one last one to leave you with today:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossian 3:16 ESV
I pray that today you will let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly and that causes you to sing from a thankful heart!
