Why Everyone Can Benefit from Studying This Year
“Study“ doesn’t sound fun to everyone. Some people will actively run in the opposite direction of "studying" as if an explosive were armed and dangerous. But even if it isn’t naturally “our thing,“ did you know that everyone is called to study?
Studying helps us grow in virtue: patience, perseverance, humility, and knowledge. But obviously all studying is not created equal – there are definitely things that are more worth studying than others, and you’ve probably guessed where this is going at this point and know that I’m about to say that nothing is more worth studying than the Bible.
But I want to really tie this back to our topic of the month right now: the fact that we can have peace regardless of our circumstances. Though they might not seem connected these things are deeply intertwined.
Knowing the Bible and living in unshakable peace are two sides of the same coin. Peace comes from our ability to truly leave things in God's hands, and so much of the courage and safety we need to do that comes from knowing who God is and what He is like, information we glean in a large part from Scripture (as well as our own interactions with Him).
If the word study scares you, don’t use it. Instead, focus on building a friendship – like an old-fashioned penpal we get to know through their letters. At the end of the day it’s the same thing. We are invited into study as a means of coming to know and encounter who God is, why we can trust Him, and who we are in relationship to Him so that we can understand ourselves in context of where we were created to fit.
As I shared last week, we have our amazing school of the word bundle on sale right now, and some of it's components are even going to be featured in our September Joy Box as a way to invite and encourage even more people to dip their toes in the Word.
Check out all the things we have for you to start heading to school in the Word, including journaling supplies, a retreat on hearing God's voice, and free resources right here: