Hearing the Word

I don’t know about you, but sitting down and reading the Bible in a quiet and uninterrupted environment is nigh unto impossible for me. I love the Word of God, love how it speaks to my heart, love the way it shapes my thinking and my prayers, but I struggle with the actual reading part.

For years I would set my clock to rise before the sun and try to have my devotional time with my Lord and some coffee, only to find myself too full of sleep to concentrate, or interrupted by my early rising children. I had great intentions, but not too much success. Often I felt an incredible sense of guilt and frustration when hearing others talk about their quiet times and how meaningful they were. Mind you, the few successful ones I had were quite meaningful, but the majority of my attempts left me feeling irritable and something of a devotional failure. I tried reading at bedtime…..zzzzz. I tried it on my lunch break… too many interruptions.

I’m a huge lover of audio books and tend to be a person who works best while listening to something. This past year, I stumbled upon the solution for me and maybe others who might struggle with my dilemma—the Bible on mp3. Before purchasing I “shopped” various narrators to see which voice most appealed to my ear by sampling audio files online. After careful deliberation I purchased the NIV Audio Bible, published by Zondervan and have been blessed beyond my wildest expectations. I listen in the morning while I’m getting ready for work, in the car, and even in the shower. I listen while working in the yard, folding laundry, and cleaning the house. My mind has been saturated with the Word of God and it’s been a tremendous source of encouragement to me.

As I thought through Jeff’s message on Diversity this week, I was reminded of how God has uniquely formed each of us with our various quirks and dispositions, and found myself thankful that He’s also provided ways for us to seek Him that meet us where we are. Although I still use my “print” Bible for reference and study, I love the accessibility of the digital Word and the way the beautifully spoken words speak to my spirit.

If you’d like to check it out you can follow this link. Remember this is the Bible on mp3, not CD. You load these discs onto your computer and then sync them to your ipod through itunes. You can also purchase it on CD for a bit more money.


Here’s to diversity—what a beautiful body we are in Christ!