Lately, my quiet times have felt a little dry, as if I’m just sipping on the Word. I’d prefer to want to gulp it down like the Gatorade you throw back as you’re running a long race. I want to feel like I’m going to die of thirst if I don’t get in the Word. I want my soul to feel quenched by it when I spend time in it. But let’s just say I’m going through a bit of a drought in my quiet times. They’re consistent, but lately, they’re not deep. Maybe you feel the same way.
Don’t get me wrong—I’ve read the Bible all the way through. I spend hours in it most days, checking references and wording for the work I do. I’m pretty familiar with it. But I’ve overlooked how powerful it can be. It’s not just another reference manual on my desk, along with the dictionaries and AP Style Books. I need to remember that it’s the living, breathing Word of God.
Yesterday was the last day of the National Youth Worker’s Conference here at LifeWay. It’s been great to interact with youth workers from all over the country. Tuesday night, David Platt spoke. I was struck by his love of the Word and how he could quote it, reference it, and move around in it as he presented his message. It’s apparent he’s spent a lot of time in it. He challenged youth leaders to teach the Bible because it is powerful. Platt also reminded youth workers to pray. These are basics, and yet they are easy to overlook as we focus on planning, programming, and all the other tasks associated with ministry.
The Bible may be our instruction manual, but some of our students have only a vague idea of what’s in it. How are you helping them cultivate a deep love of the Word? How do we teach them to gulp from the Bible instead of sipping?
Here are a few suggestions from Sherry Spillman, Student Ministry Specialist at LifeWay:
1. Make sure that the meat of Bible study actually searches Scripture and is spent examining God’s Word. It’s easy for Bible study to become a discussion of girls’ and leaders’ opinions. Go to the Bible so that girls can discover that the answers to their questions are actually in there.
2. Be careful not to answer your own questions. Don’t let the uncomfortable silence after your question cause you to rush to answer it yourself. Give the girls time to wrestle through their answers.
3. Prepare your heart for worship to take place during Bible study. Worship isn’t just about music and singing; it’s about encountering God and being transformed by His presence. It should be taking place in our Bible studies.
4. Make sure that your girls are given an opportunity to measure their lives against the truth you’ve studied. Examining their lives in comparison to the Holy God found in Scripture will help them realize how short of Him they fall. In light of that realization, their surrender to and dependence on Him should follow.
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