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“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8, ESV).
Words come in different forms: on a page, in a text, across social media, and printed on T-shirts. They can challenge us, causing both anger and laughter.
Novels are words on a page, and comic books are a simplified form of the same. These words can inspire, educate, and provide entertainment. While I tend to be a “wordophile” (my own term for loving words), I noticed something unique that occurs only when I read the Bible.
I feel the presence of God. And His presence brings peace and joy.
I use the word “feel” deliberately. Reading God’s Word challenges my intellect and leaves me more determined to walk in obedience, but something else happens—a presence that manifests as a feeling. Many scholars emphasize that when reading Scripture, we should focus far more on the content than on emotional responses.
Scripture should guide our intellect and encourage godly behavior. However, fearing or eliminating emotions entirely seems like parsing verbs in the Lord of the Rings® trilogy. We can become so circumspect about correct grammar that we fail to celebrate when the evil Sauron is finally—after three long volumes—defeated.
In Ephesians, Paul prays that the saints will “know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). This passage describes a reality that intellect alone cannot explain. God created our soul with mind, will, and emotions:
- Mind: Facts and details
- Will: Following the facts and details
- Emotions: Enjoying the facts and details
Sermons too often emphasize facts, exhort us to follow the details, and completely ignore emotions. While the mind and will are celebrated, emotions are treated like an evil sibling—the black sheep of the spiritual family to be avoided at all costs. Yet it is our emotions that experience the joy—the knowledge that surpasses understanding—that motivates our agreement with the facts, activates our will, and leads us to celebrate our sanctification.
Think of it this way: a football team knows the plays and wants to win, but the coach’s pre-game speech motivates through emotion, providing that final spark for victory. I remember attending a game at “The Shoe” at The Ohio State University™. When a touchdown was scored, you could feel the emotion like an irresistible, stadium-shaking flood. But that high quickly dissipated the moment the opponent intercepted a pass and ran it back.
Earthly emotions are fragile like that—one minute you’re winning, the next minute the scoreboard flips. But the emotion we find in Scripture doesn’t depend on a shifting scoreboard. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, the final whistle has already blown. The ultimate victory over evil is secured.
When we read the Bible and experience that flood of joy, we aren’t fans cheering for an uncertain game; we are celebrating a done deal. The enemy might occasionally intercept a pass in our daily circumstances, but he cannot change the final score. Our joy is anchored in the empty tomb.
Every morning, before I face my day, when I read my Bible, I feel the presence of that undefeated God!