What would happen if we simply read the Bible together?

The Power of the Word

The Power of the Word

Once God has spoken;
     twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God. Psalm 62:11, ESV

Some time ago I went to meetings at a church organization for a day. I joined the morning staff worship before the day began. Someone read from a short devotional to about forty workers who sat in rows. I sat on the end of a row, looking with curiosity at the faces of those around me. I saw various responses. Some looked out the window, seeming eager to get on with the day. Others looked a little blank, perhaps disconnected. Others were listening. I waited, hungry for some takeaway words that would fill me as the day began. Before I knew it, a short prayer was offered and everyone rushed off to start the day.

I found myself longing for more; longing perhaps for what God was waiting to give, and wondering whether others had, too. While I’ve read many good devotionals, as I’m sure you have too, there’s nothing as deep or inspiring as the Bible itself. I wondered what it might look like if a stack of Bibles lived in a corner of that room and whether anything would change if the workers picked one up each morning. I wondered what might happen in the lives of these workers, and in their work, if they read from the Bible each morning, together. If they simply read together, perhaps they could reflect and consider how the passage gives guidance to them personally or to their work for the day ahead.

And then, what would happen if they prayed for one another—for their work, their families, their challenges—before they rushed on to their day? What would happen if, instead of trusting the common wisdom of committees in our workplaces, we turned to the inspired advice in the Bible? What would happen if we paused to really seek such advice and then followed it, even if it didn’t make worldly sense to us? What would happen?

If you are a leader, how can you turn to God’s Word for advice in leading your team? How can you show that the Bible is living, breathing, and powerful in giving guidance today—in your meetings, your everyday work, and in your plans for the future? How can you be more confident to trust God in your work decisions?

If you are a parent, how can you turn to God’s Word for advice about how to work with the challenges you face with your children or your spouse? How can you claim the promises in the Bible to change the tone in your home? '

If we were to bring the Bible into our lives without hesitation, I believe we would see huge changes in our lives, in our homes, and in our workplaces because God’s Word is powerful in so many ways!

The Bible makes this appeal of itself: “Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart” (Job 22:22, ESV). Did you notice the “please” appeal in that sentence? The Bible authors knew how valuable these words are. No other book on earth can speak to your life as these words can.

The words sit there on the pages of your Bible, but how can you keep God’s words in your heart? We can start by putting them there in an intentional way. “Your word I have hidden in my heart,” David said, “that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11, ESV). It means keeping God’s words in our hearts, where we have easy access to them.

By Nina Atcheson (2018). As Light Lingers. Basking in the Word of God. Madrid, Spain: SAFELIZ. pp. 33, 34. (Used with permission from the author.)

Photo credit: GCWM Nilde Itin | Nina Atcheson holds her book (February  2023)