I’m afraid I sometimes fall into a trap. I read God’s word too casually. I read a familiar passage in His Holy Word, and It has little or no effect on me. I wonder what’s on God’s heart when that happens? Convicting.

My spiritual mentor Dr. Henry Blackaby often said he trembled as he read passages of God’s Word. I was with him one day and asked him, “Do you really tremble? Actually?” He looked me in the eye and said, “Ron I often literally shake when I read the powerful message of the Lord to me through His Word.”

I don’t often tremble as I read the Bible. Yet I believe Almighty God looks into our hearts to see if we are taking His message into the depths of our souls. Listen to Ezra’s words:

Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel came and sat with me….

Ezra 9:4 NLT

Ezra was upset when he learned that the returning exiles had not taken God’s Word, His commands, seriously. Yet there were some, evidenced by their trembling, who were fearful of what the Lord might do to those who so casually strayed from what God had told them, the boundaries He set for them.

If God’s Word is a living, breathing communication from our Heavenly Father to us personally…and it is…why would we skim over it and go on our way unchanged? We can make excuses, but we are bankrupt of any real reason. Busy? Then we are too busy. Distracted? Then we need to learn to shut out the world and focus on His Word, His message to us personally.

I’m reminded of the humorous phrase about some who shoot weapons. “Ready. Fire. Aim.” How can we accomplish God’s will if we fire off our weapon without knowing God’s direction for our lives? Think of this:

Ready – Prepare to encounter God in His Word by removing distractions or removing yourself from distractions. And prepare your heart to receive what He has to say. Look expectantly into the Bible for His message.

Aim – Learn from reading the Bible each day what the Lord would have you do and how He wants you to serve Him today. Be sure you are aimed in such a way that you don’t miss the mark.

Fire – Go confidently into the day with His focus in your heart and His assignment for you and those you lead.

Finally, I would say we need to put ourselves in a position to tremble as God speaks directly to us through His Word and through prayer.

In reading through the Bible, as I have done for many years now, I came across an interesting passage. I had to ask myself, “What is that there for?” If we believe that God’s Word is inspired by the Holy Spirit, then there is always a reason, a purpose in a passage, whether we grasp it easily or not. Here’s what I read:

But when the people come in through the north gateway to worship the Lord during the religious festivals, they must leave by the south gateway. And those who entered through the south gateway must leave by the north gateway. They must never leave by the same gateway they came in, but must always use the opposite gateway.

Ezekiel 46:9 NLT

After some thought and prayer, here is what came to me. When we enter into the presence of the Lord, we should never leave the same way we came in. I’m not talking physically. I believe the Lord is presenting a picture for His people of what should take place in our lives. We should be so impacted by the Lord’s message as He encounters us, that we are not the same. We tremble at His holiness and at our sinfulness. And then we leave… a different person because of our time spent with our Lord Jesus.

Now that’s a worthy goal for each day.

God’s best…