Are you reading through the Psalms with me this spring?
You haven’t missed anything; let’s get started! The New Year awkwardly began on a Friday, which really throws a person off (read: me) when she typically likes to start new things on Mondays. If you are the same way, and forgot to begin reading Psalm 1 on Day 1, then take heart. It will be easy to catch up. Most of the Psalms are short. We are reading seven per week this spring. Look, the first six Psalms fit on an open-page spread in the picture above. That is doable.
You can read one Psalm per day or just read seven Psalms in one day, whatever you want. You can even read all seven every day. Re-reading within the same week is especially meaningful.
This week, we are reading Psalms 1-7.
This is how I choose to meditate on the Word during a slow walk like we are doing with the Psalms this spring. I highly recommend this method. Of course, you don’t have to do this. It is just one way to approach Bible reading in a way that makes it come alive.
- Have a journal or spiral notebook with you as you read.
- Pray that the Holy Spirit will open your heart to understand the Bible in a new way. Ask Him to open your eyes to things you have not noticed before. Ask Him to speak directly to you, to make something stand out to you as you read.
- Slowly read the section for the day, looking for wisdom that applies to your life. I highly recommend softly reading aloud. You are more likely to pay attention and to notice important words or themes if you read aloud.
- Write down a verse that stands out. Copy it in your journal, word-for-word. Sometimes two or three different verses will grab my attention, but I usually only pick one to write down.
- Re-write the verse in your own words.
- Write an application of the verse. Write out for yourself how you will use what you just read during that day or during that week.
- Pray and ask God to seal His Word in your heart, calling it to your mind when you need it.
I LOOSELY borrowed this journaling process from the Discovery Bible Study Method, and it has changed my daily Bible reading. This looks like a lengthy 7-steps. I think if you do it once or twice, however, it will become second nature.
You can see my journal peeking out from under the Bible in the picture above. I’ll show you how easy the process is. This is what I wrote today:
Psalm 3:5
“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.”
Paraphrase
Even when I sleep, God takes care of me.
Application
Lately, I have felt responsible for a lot of things and worried that I won’t get them accomplished. That has been making it hard to go to sleep. I am going to address that this week by pausing before I get into bed and purposefully thinking about how thankful I am that the Lord takes care of me, even while I sleep. Meditating on that beautiful fact will make it easier to let go of everything I have been trying to take care of. I’m going to let Him take care of all of it … and take care of me.
Sometimes the verse and paraphrase are longer. Sometimes the application is shorter. But, I’m telling you, NOTHING has made Scripture part of my thoughts like this process. The Lord really does seal His word in my heart when I ask Him to. Even when the words of the verse are not memorized, the principles in the verse are.
I invite you to share the verses that stood out to you on my Facebook page or in the comment section here. You may find it interesting that God made different words or themes stand out to different people. His Word is perfect that way.
God bless you as you read.