CHRISTINE GORDON | CONTRIBUTOR

Everyone has a water bottle nowadays. They come in every size and color, with a variety of price points and mechanisms. You can find them in the hands of schoolchildren, construction workers, bank tellers, and everyone in between—and that’s a good thing. We’ve learned that an appropriate amount of water in specific body systems can make or break our health. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, proper hydration regulates body temperature, keeps joints lubricated, prevents infections, delivers nutrients to cells, helps organs function properly, improves sleep quality, helps cognition, and regulates mood.[1] While most of us forget to drink as much as we should, most Americans now understand at least some of hydration’s benefits and try to get their glasses in every day. We know water will help us to function and even thrive, so we make sure to have it with us, no matter what we’re doing.

What if we thought about Scripture like water?

Oh, I know the messages that are out there. There are enough “shoulds” about Scripture reading in the Christian world to choke us, which is what they normally do. We’re told we should read the Bible for lots of reasons, many of which involve some sort of shame spiral if we don’t. They can sound like this: “How will your children learn to love the Bible if they don’t see you loving it?” “How will you know Jesus if you don’t read his Word?” “If you have time to watch TV, you have time to read the Word.” These may be true, but I don’t know that they’re the best motivators for a joyous occasion of intimacy with our Lord. What if you thought about the Bible like you do your water bottle—something your soul needs to survive and thrive, that can refresh and reset, regulate and help you to function, even prosper?

Believe it or not, this is what the Bible says about itself.

Psalm 1:1-3 can read like this:

1 Blessed is the woman[2]
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but her delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law she meditates day and night.

3 She is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that she does, she prospers.

The Psalmist is writing about a person who has chosen between the two most basic roads of life: the way of the wicked and the way of the Lord. She has decided to find her pleasure not by keeping company with the wicked — those who ignore God’s desires for his good creation. Instead, this woman finds her pleasure in the law of the Lord. Remember what the Psalmist means when he uses the word “law.” “Law” is, in Hebrew, the “Torah,” which includes more than just the Ten Commandments and directions for sacrificing animals. The Torah is all instruction that comes from God including story, poetry, and all revelation. Torah is the story of God dividing the sea and enabling the Hebrew people to safely cross while then destroying the Egyptians and their chariots. Torah is the story of David fighting Goliath and leading Israel to victory. Torah is the story of David taking Bathsheba as his wife, having Uriah killed, and Nathan the prophet naming his sin to his face. Torah is also the Psalms David composed in all the experiences above. Torah is the whole story of God desperately loving his people as they fumble around, sometimes trying to love him back. The woman who meditates on the law day and night takes pleasure in thinking about and remembering the whole story of God, on and off, all day long.

You can be like the tree planted by the water.

Trees living next to bodies of water have a constant supply of what they need to stay healthy. The woman who chooses to meditate on, think about, and take pleasure in the story of God and his people is like the tree that always has the water it needs. She is nourished, yields fruit, and her leaves remain green even during drought conditions. What she does prospers. It’s not that she’s always successful in business, or never encounters suffering. But she will produce fruit, which by its very nature is not for the benefit of the tree, but for the good of others. No matter where this woman goes, no matter what she puts her mind and time towards, she will be a blessing to others because of her fruitfulness.

Do you long to be like this tree?

Maybe you’re living with toddlers who need constant attention. You’re doing well to get up five minutes before the tiny people who demand help from the earliest moments of the morning. You work all day, and then come home to more needs, giving baths and persevering through long bedtimes only to collapse on the couch once all the children are asleep. Couldn’t Scripture reading wait until the children can at least read in their beds for a while at night? Psalm 1 would tell us no. You are the tree who needs water to nourish you. Don’t read because Jesus will love you more (he won’t), or because others will think better of you (they might). Come to the Word as the thirsty tree you are, who needs to be refreshed, even by a few sips before bed or during your lunch hour. Let the story of God’s love for you and his people refresh your soul and sustain you through another day of work, another bedtime, another short night of sleep.

Perhaps you’re living in a hard season of loneliness, walking through empty rooms you thought would have children or a husband in them. Or maybe you’ve lost a husband, or your children have grown and moved away. Isn’t church enough? Why start something now that seems like it just makes more sense to do as a couple or a family? Believe it or not, this may be one of the most fruitful seasons of your life, as you can focus so much of your attention on those in your church or extended family. Immerse yourself in the Word of God and let him produce fruit through you.

Maybe you’re living in a season of fruitfulness. The work you are doing seems to multiply before your eyes. Good feedback comes daily. Couldn’t Scripture reading be decreased a bit while the work is going so well? Psalm 1 would tell us no. Your fruitfulness is the result of the Word’s nourishment. Don’t stop connecting yourself to the true vine, apart from which you can do nothing (John 15).

Perhaps you’re in a season where fruit seems hard to find. You’re trying to be faithful, seeking to serve in your home and church. But for some reason you can’t seem to hit your stride. Any service feels hard, and results are few and far between. It’s hard to read God’s promises when you don’t see them coming to fruition. Maybe it’s easier to just take a break from reading the Bible. The Psalmist would disagree. Even the tree planted by the water doesn’t constantly bear fruit. But it remains green because of the water moving through its roots. Seasons of fruitfulness and fruitlessness will come and go. The Word of God will sustain you through them all.

God’s Word is for every season. Some seasons may find you taking quick sips throughout the day, like a marathon runner grabbing a cup from a refreshment table in the middle of a race. Other seasons will allow for long, slow drinks as you look deeply into passages and discuss their meanings with friends. The point is not necessarily how long you read, when you read, or even what you read. The point is that the Word of God is the nourishment your soul depends on for survival. In every season, let the Bible speak words of truth to your heart. You will be like the tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season. You will not wither in the season of drought. In everything you do, you will prosper.

[1]  https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/the-importance-of-hydration/

[2]  Note: The inspired text of Ps. 1:1 uses the Hebrew word for “man” (ish). The ESV translators note that “man” here refers to “a representative example of a godly person.” In this interpretation, “women” and “she” are used to apply this text in a specific way to the women reading this article.

Photo by Amy Tran on Unsplash