Battling Bible Fatigue

"[H]earken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness" (Isaiah 55:1-2, KJV).   
"Your words were found, and I ate them.  Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart..." (Jeremiah 15:16, HCSB).     
"I rejoiced over Your promise like one who finds vast treasure" (Psalm 119: 162, HCSB).  
"Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your instruction" (Psalm 119:165, HCSB). 
"... I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily food" (Job 23:12, HCSB).

As an introduction, realize that God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform (cf. Isaiah 45:15) and through general revelation such as creation, as well as through propositional and written revelation in the Word of God--on this, I'll focus.

Bible fatigue refers to the syndrome when the Bible seems to have lost its original pizzazz or zing, no longer inspiring us to do good deeds or mediate on or know God.  Boredom is a phenomenon that only humans are truly capable of, in that we get bored with ourselves and our environments.  Someone could have everything to live on and nothing to live for. Anything can become blase! Sometimes the verses we're reading may seem overly familiar because of repetitive reading and resorting to the same passages over and over again--over-exposure!   In one way this reflects on our relationship with God and that God may be becoming a bore to us (we feel less amazed or in wonder at the beauty of the Word).

Remember the principle that familiarity breeds contempt and that's why we should seek illumination and not just depend on eating leftovers of the previous day's meal of the Word. This doesn't mean that there are staples we never tire of, such as the gospel message: we will always need the milk of the Word, but should grow to comprehend its solid food. 

There are many cures to this phenomenon:  we can change translations or versions to give new insight; we may fail to see the forest for the trees; we can start putting into action what we already know or apply it to ourselves; the more we understand, the more we'll gain; we can see what commentators or teachers have written about it; we can get a new interest as in a newfound interest in theology as a systematic way of seeing Scripture--rightly dividing the Word of truth.

 Remember:  You don't always need some so-called existential encounter in the Word or experience God in it to have a genuine, beneficial, blessed reading session--you don't need a new revelation either, but maybe a gentle reminder.  As we mature in the Word, we learn to see "Aha!" moments and appreciate them like one who says "Eureka!" or "I found it!"  Great spoils in the Word are there to be had by hard work and faithful reading (cf. Psalm 119:162), inspired by God (cf.  Psalm 119:18). 

But no one is immune to becoming blase about the Bible if they let it become routine or perfunctory, as a matter of fact, or of duty.   This is where seeing the big picture is necessitated and mandatory for the correct interpretation of the Word.  There are no short-cuts to a thorough understanding or comprehension of the Bible's main message. One cannot look truly into Scripture without looking truly into his heart, so it is we must be attentive to the illumination of the Spirit and our convictions, not confusing them with our prejudices.  We must also realize mankind is basically empty without God on some journey or quest to find fulfillment, and his soul is a vacuum only God can satisfy, according to Pascal, and the only contentment is in knowing God, not just knowing He exists or about Him, as Augustine said, our souls are restless till they rest in God. 

When we diligently approach the Word, we ought to be spiritually prepared and with an open mind, obedient will, open mind, expectant attitude, willing spirit, and needy heart, being teachable and reverent to the Word, or we will get nothing!  Above all:  READ WITH A PURPOSE!   God chose to speak to our hearts in the Word and we must be ready to echo its prayers and to be convicted by the Spirit or to be prompted to do His will.  Then divine order is to prepare with prayer, being ready to pray during reading, and to thank and praise in prayer afterward, keeping the message spoken to our hearts in mind as we go about our activities.

CAVEAT:  NEVER READ THE WORD OF GOD FOR MERELY OR PURELY ACADEMIC REASONS, FOR ENTERTAINMENT, OR WHEN YOU AREN'T SERIOUS ABOUT GOD SPEAKING TO YOUR HEART AND YOU BEING WILLING TO APPLY IT!       Soli Deo Gloria! 

Having Bible Fatigue?

Disclaimer:  The Bible is not like a novel that you read and file away, saying I know what's in it! You don't read it once and put it back in the library!  There is no panacea and everyone's case is different, but this is my perspective.  I'm not a guru on this and don't claim a special revelation, inside track, or anointing from God, but He has put this on my heart.  In retrospect or hindsight, I do seem to know something about this I'd like to share so you won't have to go through what I have and learn the hard way to stay in the Word.  "It is no empty Word for you, but your very life" (cf. Deut. 32:47).   I have been gung-ho about the Scripture since a lad and know of what I speak, this is mostly empirical first-hand expertise, counsel or advice as follows, and not necessarily dogma or scholarship took a posteriori and I hope you don't think I'm getting mystical:

Have you ever been bored with your Bible reading?  Has it ever lost its pizazz or zip?  Even though this is commonplace, it should not be normative in a healthy Christian or body.  Have you been there and done that?  You know what I mean because this can happen to anyone.  You can feel blase, or get the blahs about anything you like from time to time and the Holy Writ is humdrum and you can live without daily, then weekly, then hardly ever reading it. This scenario could be a  red flag and show impending signs of being lukewarm, warned of by Jesus in Revelation 3:16. It is indicative of something much deeper than boredom and could be a telltale sign of backsliding at worse. It is ubiquitous or constantly encountered and not at all unwanted or unheard of.

You don't want to be nonchalant or indifferent concerning spiritual things and you should nip it in the bud!  Let's rectify and remedy this abnormal situation common in the body, or you could call it systemic (affecting the body at large) because I've heard that only 10 percent of believers are really into the Word on a daily basis!

Sometimes we will get a serendipity (finding a jackpot looking for something else), an epiphany (a discovery), get a rude awakening or rebuke, or have a rare "Aha!" moment, burning in the bosom, or goosebump (sometimes called an existential experience--but don't become addicted to emotional highlights, because God isn't impressed with emotion as much as faith, which is how to please Him (cf. Hebrews 11:6).

You can't teach someone to love the Word--it is something to behold and to cherish.  ("O how I love thy law, it is my meditation all the day,"  cf. Psalm 119:97 and "Great peace have those who love thy law, and nothing causes them to stumble," cf. Psalm 119:165).  Let the Word "be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path" (cf. Psalm 119:105)! The Bible feeds you, then makes you hungry!  It reads you as you read it!

What is the cure?  There is a cure for every illness, in my opinion.  But I believe the cure is in the Bible!  Yes, the cure for Bible fatigue is the Bible itself and this is no paradox.  You may be trying to "feed on ashes" according to Scripture or eat yesterday's meal.  Sometimes we do eat leftovers, but not necessarily the next day or the next meal.  We never lose our appetite for milk because milk is a staple, not a treat or dessert.  If we ate cake every day we would grow blase about it or maybe spoiled. You cannot live on bread alone either, because we need a balanced diet.

The bread is Christ and the milk and meat are the Word. Solid food is for the mature who have learned to distinguish good from evil  (cf. Hebrews 5:14) and are not carnal or in the flesh (cf. 1 Cor. 3:1-2).  Baby Christians can only digest milk or the basics of the Word and the deeper or more advanced doctrine is inappropriate.  You don't give a baby solid food!  We all have to learn to feed ourselves eventually, even though faith comes by hearing.  We never outgrow the need for preaching and teaching form the body of Christ.  We edify each other--no one is a rock to himself.   Now, even though mature believers need meat to grow they also never lose the need for milk or any of the staples--the basics.

I still enjoy hearing the gospel message, for example, and like to read the Word without going to deep sometimes.  I don't want to oversimplify, but when I say the cure is the Bible, I mean that if we apply what we know and share what we know God will teach us more in His Word.  There are the so-called "inhale-exhale" phenomena that say that impression without expression equals depression!  There is joy in doing the Word too, not just reading it or studying it.  We need to pray, cry out, and thirst for God as revealed in the Word.  Pray: "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law" (cf. Psalm 119:18).   The cure may be as simple as reading other portions of Scripture or think outside the box, as it were.  Get out of your comfort zone and explore the Bible!  Don't just specialize in one portion or genre.  "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God"  (cf. Matt. 4:4).  Paul says he has not failed to "proclaim the whole will [counsel] of God," not just his agenda, in Acts 20:27.

Another cure is to change translations and this is a way of getting a new viewpoint or to be exposed to a new horizon or new world.  There is no perfect translation; they are all flawed and one must not just be enslaved to one--only the original manuscripts are infallible and no translation can be inerrant, but always loses something in the translation--I know as a German-language student.  Sometimes, it just boils down to what works for you or which one you like to read or will read.

Paul warns us not to argue about words (cf. 1 Tim. 6:4; 2 Tim. 2:14), but that doesn't mean they aren't important.  Lawyers may also be familiar with the nuances of words and realize that many quarrels can be made over the meaning of words--don't get too dogmatic and force your doctrine to be dependent on any one translation--that is don't nit-pick!  You may be splitting hairs; don't major on the minors, but try to get the big picture first or you may become intoxicated with the deep things of the Word and forget its main message which is faith expressing itself through love (cf. Gal. 5:6). We can become too familiar with a passage and need a fresh perspective that another translation or version can give us.     Soli Deo Gloria!