God Still Speaks Through His Word

As a new year begins, many believers are sketching out Bible-reading plans, setting goals to study Scripture more faithfully or dive deeper into certain books. Others may feel the sting of past failures, where last year’s intentions fizzled out somewhere in Leviticus or Lamentations. Whether you’ve mapped out a detailed schedule or are still deciding where to begin, the intention to engage Scripture is a good and worthy desire. But here’s the deeper question Why do we read?

For many, reading the Bible can feel like a spiritual checklist item, a duty driven by guilt, habit, or fear of falling short. While those motivators can sometimes push us into discipline, they rarely produce lasting delight. Eventually, obligation wears thin. But what if the reason to read God’s word isn’t primarily duty or discipline? What if it’s wonder?

The Living Voice of God

What changes everything is this: God still speaks. The pages of Scripture are not just ancient texts, theological ideas, or historical narratives. They are the breath of the living God (2 Timothy 3:16). They carry His voice, His heart, and His presence.

Throughout the Bible, the prophets did not preface their messages with caveats or commentary. They said simply and powerfully, “Thus says the Lord.” There was no question of authority, no need for persuasion. They were not sharing their own thoughts they were vessels for divine speech. And in every page of Scripture, that same voice continues to echo. As Peter wrote, “Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

The God who spoke the universe into existence continues to speak today. Not through new prophets or fresh revelations, but through the preserved, perfect word He has already given. The same God who thundered from Sinai, who whispered to Elijah, and who revealed Himself in Christ now speaks to you yes, you through His word.

Not Just A Book, But A Conversation

To read the Bible is to meet God in the sacred space of His self-revelation. It is not just studying theology or gleaning life lessons; it is listening to the voice of your Creator and Redeemer. The Bible is not merely about God it is God addressing you personally, calling you to know Him, worship Him, and walk with Him.

John Owen captured this well when he wrote, “God has gathered up into the Scripture all the divine revelations given out by himself from the beginning of the world... that [we] may be thoroughly instructed in the whole mind and will of God.” In other words, the Bible is not a puzzle to figure out or a burden to bear it is the divine invitation to know the mind of God and the path to eternal joy.

How Do We Respond?

If this is true if God speaks through His word then how should we approach it? What posture matches the wonder of this reality?

1. With Humility

Astonishment at God’s speech leads to humble listening. We come as creatures, not critics. He is the potter; we are the clay. Opening Scripture becomes an act of reverence God is opening His heart to us. We do not deserve such grace, yet He speaks freely, fully, and faithfully.

Do you come to Scripture ready to be shaped, not just informed?

2. With Gratitude

Every word is a gift. We don’t read to earn God’s approval but because He has already shown His love by giving us His voice. His word teaches, comforts, rebukes, and renews us. When we read with gratitude, we stop demanding that the Bible meet our preferences and instead receive it with the joy of a child receiving wisdom from a Father.

Do you open the word with thankfulness, even when it challenges or convicts?

3. With Joy

Joy flows when we remember that Scripture is not a lecture—it’s a love letter. In it, we discover not only truth but intimacy. The psalmist said, “I delight in your commandments, which I love” (Psalm 119:47). Why? Because in every command, every promise, and every page, God is drawing near to His people.

Do you believe that opening the Bible is opening a door to joy?

Take Up and Read

When Augustine heard the words, “Tolle lege, tolle lege” (“Take up and read”), he opened the Bible and everything changed. God’s voice broke through, and Augustine’s heart opened in response. That same possibility awaits every believer who approaches Scripture in faith.

So yes, make a plan. Choose a reading guide, pick a book of the Bible, set a time and place. But as you do, don’t simply aim for consistency. Aim for astonishment. Let your Bible reading be less about checking a box and more about meeting the living God.

He still speaks. He always has. The question is are we listening?

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