By Shannon Caughey

Crucial to athletes’ success is listening to their coach, understanding what their coach desires, and implementing the coach’s instructions. And this can’t be a once-in-a-while thing. If athletes want to get better, they must consistently practice this discipline of listening to the coach and doing what the coach says. Progress requires practice.

Likewise, spiritual progress involves engaging in particular practices. Spiritual growth includes intentionally arranging our life around activities (often referred to as spiritual practices or disciplines) that give God the opportunity to work in us and transform us—with the goal of becoming more and more like Jesus. One of these activities is the practice of consistently reading, studying, and reflecting on God’s Word. This is the way we listen to and understand the Lord so that we can implement his good instructions for how we live.

Psalm 1:1-3 says, “¹ Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, ² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. ³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” At the heart of resisting sin and instead prospering spiritually is meditating on God’s law—the Scriptures. The psalmist is pointing to the practice of consistently reading, studying, and reflecting on God’s Word.

Why is this practice so crucial? First, because God makes himself known through the Bible—and ultimately through his Son Jesus, the one to whom all of the Scriptures point. That’s why Jesus is called “the Word” in John 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (vv. 1, 14). We cannot know the Lord, understand his heart, or grow in our relationship with him apart from the practice of consistent time in the Scriptures.

Second, the Bible shows us what is true: about God, about us, about this world, about the future, and about how God intends for us to live. In speaking about the Lord, the psalmist says in Psalm 18:30, “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true.” Every day we’re bombarded by voices telling us what we should think, what we should value, and how we should view the world. To know what is actually true, our minds and hearts must be saturated with God’s Word—and this requires regular time reading and studying the Bible.

Third, through the Bible God directs us in how to live. According to 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” God through his Word teaches us, confronts sin in our life, and shows us how to think, speak, and act according to his good design—whether as a coach or in other areas. God does this so we can thrive in who he created us to be. But this only happens as we’re consistently spending time in the Bible.

Jesus, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, asserts that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus is saying that we need to consume God’s Word for spiritual nourishment with the same consistency that we eat food for physical nourishment. Coach, incorporate this practice of reading and reflecting on God’s Word into your daily life. Make it a priority in your schedule. As you do so, this practice will bring spiritual progress. The Lord graciously works through his Word, enabling you to increasingly become “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”

For reflection: What specific steps is God leading you to take to grow in the practice of reading, studying, and reflecting on God’s Word? Talk with him about this. Trust his power and grace to enable you to follow through on these steps.