I often feel tired and alone. I struggle to find the will or even the energy to do things. I am bombarded with daily postings and advertisements to read the latest books written by clergy and theologians, theology professors and Christian organizations.

I rarely am interested in purchasing a new book. I have too many unread ones as it is now. It seems as though everybody is writing a book. It nearly seems to be a requirement; one can’t be a theologian or a member of the clergy unless one writes books.

I have begun writing dozens; but my desire has yet to outweigh my will and energy. It’s good for so many books to be written; there’s something for everybody.

In recent years due to constraints of time, I have moved into the realm of audio books. To be honest most are mystery and serial books. J.A. Jance reigns at the top of my list.

In the past several months I have been learning to “Speak God from Scratch,” and about “Redeeming How We Talk,” (Jonathan Merritt and Ken Wytsma, A.J. Swoboda). Without audio books, I would never had had the opportunity to get through these two books.

I read books written by pastors for pastors. Eugene Peterson has become a favorite author. I read books about the Bible; commentaries explaining the Bible from myriad of authors and theologians.

Yet, is it possible to spend too much time inside books about the Bible. I have nearly every commentary written by Dr. Warren Wiersbe. I spend a lot of time in his books. But as I work my way through them (and others) I begin to get the feeling that I’m missing something.

For quite a while I could not figure out what was causing me such strife and struggles. But eventually indeed, I did.

It all centered around the fact that I was spending so much time inside books about the Bible that I wasn’t reading the Bible.

Thus, I have learned that nothing can satisfy my heart in such a way as does immersing myself into the actual Word of God. I wasn’t seeking to replace the Bible with Bible commentary and yet that is what I was indeed doing.

Making my way through a day without spending quality time in God’s word leaves me with an eerie emptiness. I came to realize that while I am in the Word of God I am more with God and God is more so with me. Yes, I believe God is always with me; with each one that has called Him Lord. I believe He is with us and in us at different times to varying degrees.

I’ve had people suggest to me that I might be idolizing the Bible. I grasp what they are trying to say but I believe they are missing the centrality of the issue. The Bible is the Word of God. It’s not a novel about God. It was spoken into being by God, in some instance, literally written by God, (Daniel 5:5).

Therefore, if I am indeed idolizing the Word of God am I not in all actuality idolizing God?

Making my way through a day without spending time with God, in His Word, leaves a deep emptiness in my heart. For me, it’s akin I believe, to “waking up on the wrong side of the bed.”

Meditating on the Word of God, I believe in and of itself, is a worshiping of God. We are called to seek God. We are called to both thank God and praise God through our Lord, Christ Jesus. I believe this would be a difficult task to achieve without opening the Bible and burying our hearts in the Word of God.