One of my very favorite things in the whole entire world is my Bible study, and everything that it involves - so much so that I genuinely look forward to it every day! I get so excited about what I'm learning and what the Lord is speaking to me that most nights, I come upstairs bubbling with so much to tell my mom about what I've learned. I'm overflowing with joy just thinking about it right now!
You may now understand why it makes me so sad when people tell me that they struggle to read their Bible because they think it's boring. While there are definitely days when I'm not feeling my normal routine, I have found that there are ways to make even my most off-days and bland subjects engaging. I've gotten so into studying genealogies, Hebrew and Greek translations, and biblical history because the Lord has shown me that it is possible to have FUN reading the Bible and learning!
So, today I am here to share with you a few of my favorite ways to have fun reading the Bible and spending time with the Lord when others may think it's boring. I'm telling you friends, there are numerous times that I have declined doing something because it's during my Bible study and I don't want to miss what I'm learning. I'm being so serious.
Don't take notes.
I, for one, am a huge nerd and I love taking notes. Taking pretty notes makes me happy, and I've been obsessed with them for a long, long time. (You can read this post to see how my notes have evolved over the years.) But, I know that notes aren't for everyone. And if it's not for you, then yay! That doesn't mean that your Bible study potential is limited AT ALL, it just means that you have to work outside of the box a little bit more.
Maybe instead of writing down notes, you're an artsy person, and you'd rather doodle as you read. Maybe you like talking, so you make voice memos or videos to yourself (or a friend, or a YouTube channel, real or imaginary!) as you process what you're learning. Maybe you simply highlight things in your Bible that stick out to you. Maybe you don't know what to take notes on, so you get a devotional or Bible study book to guide you along. The possibilities are endless, friends, so don't get discouraged if notes aren't your thing.
Listen to the Bible.
I also understand that reading is not for everyone. I'm a reader, and I once was grounded from my books, so that has never been an issue for me, but if you're struggling to enjoy your Bible study because you hate reading, that's okay! Please don't avoid your Bible study because you think you have to read. You don't! There are other options!
There are countless ways that you can listen to the Bible. Whether it's through the YouVersion Bible app or a podcast that reads aloud a section of Scripture, try studying the Bible auditorily. There are also plenty of YouTube channels and podcasts out there who will help dissect whatever you're studying instead of reading through a lengthy commentary. My favorite is Spoken Gospel, but find one that works for you.
There's also a show called "The Chosen", which goes through Jesus' life in an incredibly powerful and beautiful way. While I wouldn't use a TV show to replace time in the Bible, I think it could be an interesting way to study the Bible if you watched the show and then either read or listened to the Scripture that inspired that particular episode.
Have a dance party.
When I told you that your Bible study could be fun, I meant it! There have been many nights where the worship music is speaking really personally to me and the Holy Spirit's presence is so clear, and all I can do is dance! These are some of my favorite nights, and it's so fun. Jesus brings joy and life, and I just know that He loves nothing more than for us to express that joy with Him. Like David said in 2 Samuel 6:22, "I will become even more undignified than this"!
If your Bible study is getting boring, turn on a good Christian playlist, or change up the playlist you're currently listening to, and let that inspire a new joy within your time with the Lord.
Mimic what you're reading.
This has become one of my favorite things to do during my Bible study because it makes what I'm reading so much more applicable and real. Just recently, when I was studying Mary's song during Christmas time, I took her song and switched up the words to make it my own. In doing this, I suddenly had a better understanding of how Mary must have felt and the faithfulness of God that she clung to, and I was overwhelmed with emotion. I've also done this with the Psalms and either rewrote the Psalm or pray it.
A few other ways you could mimic what you're reading, or make it come alive, could be:
Read the Scripture out loud. (I love doing this!)
Do whatever the section of Scripture is doing. If they wrote a song, write a song. If they served someone in a specific way, serve someone in a similar way. If they pray in a specific way, pray in a similar way. Take what you're learning and make it reality.
Ask the Lord if what He's calling the people in Scripture to do is applicable to you as well. The Lord is always teaching something, but it doesn't always apply to your life in that specific way, especially out of context. Ask the Lord how to walk in obedience after studying that part of Scripture.
Teach it to someone else.
I once was told that you will know if you truly understand the topic you're learning if you can teach it to someone else and explain it in a way that they understand as well. Oftentimes I will come upstairs after my Bible study and tell my mom all about everything that I've just studied, and that has really helped whatever I was learning about become cemented in my mind. It also helps me consider other perspectives as she asks questions and other possibilities. And the conversations that follow are so fun and good for my soul, which definitely adds another element to my Bible study!
Understand how it applies to you.
I've touched on this briefly before in this post, but another way to make your Bible study feel less abstract and distant is to understand how it is applicable to our lives today. We must do this very carefully, because we don't want to take Scripture out of its context and original purpose. But, when you do this properly, the Bible will become so much more dynamic to you and it will no longer be an ancient, outdated book, but instead a love letter from God with instructions for how to live an abundant life.
To do this, first understand its original purpose in the context that it was created to be in (sometimes this requires a little bit of research!), and from there, it will be easier to understand how that can transfer over to our current lives. There are so many resources and commentaries to help you understand the purpose of why the author wrote certain things in certain ways, so I would challenge you to explore that, and that will help you uncover how it translates in your life.
Lately I've realized how much I love my Bible study and how fun it truly can be. I pray that this post was at least a little bit of an encouragement to you to show that there are so many options to make your Bible study more meaningful and enjoyable, and hopefully you have a few new ideas to incorporate into your own study time!
How do you make your Bible study fun and engaging? Are you going to try out any of these tips? Let me know down in the comments below!
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