54. How to see what God wants to show you through the Bible

If you have ever opened your Bible and felt unsure what God was trying to show you, this episode is for you. 

Whitney shares how to approach Bible study in a way that helps it feel more personal, meaningful, and transformative in your everyday life by seeing what God wants to show you through His Word. 

If you are ready to stop just reading the Bible and start letting it shape your mindset, decisions, habits, and everyday life, it can become the best mirror God can use to grow and transform you as a Christian woman.

If you have been asking questions like:

• How do I know what God is trying to show me through the Bible?
• How can I make Bible study feel more personal?
• What can I do to make it feel like God is talking to me?
• What questions should I ask to see what God is showing me?
• How do I notice themes or patterns that apply to me in the Bible? 
• How do I apply what I read in the Bible to my everyday life? 
• How can the Bible actually transform my life and grow my faith?

Then this episode is for you!

What next step are you taking on your Bible study journey?!

1. Bible Study Made Just for You is a 6-week 1:1 coaching program with Whitney where you stop just reading the Bible and start living it out, so you become transformed.

2. The Bible Study Made Simple community is where you learn about the Bible and stay consistent in it, so your faith grows as a Christian woman.

3. The Bible Study Made Simple guide is where you learn what to do every time you read the Bible, so you actually understand it.

4. These are the best Bible study tools on Amazon that will help you start reading the Bible with confidence for free.

5. Follow Whitney on TikTok or Instagram @stepintoboldfaith for simple Bible study tips, encouragement, and practical help to grow in your faith.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

A lot of women open the Bible hoping to get something out of it, but they don't always know how to do that or how to recognize what God might actually be showing them while they read or even know that that is something that is possible and that the Bible can feel so personal and that God can be trying to speak with you through it. It's not just information that we need to learn. The Bible is literally a mirror that can help us become transformed from the inside out with what God wants us to see within our hearts, within our lives, within the places that we're going, with the way that He's transforming us. And literally so many amazing things can happen through doing this. And it's just such a gift that we are given. So by the end of this episode, you will know five ways to be able to better recognize what God is revealing to you through the Bible. And so Bible study can feel even more personal, clear, life-changing, transformational, and so much more. So this is something I personally have done and that I just feel so connected to God through the Bible when I read the Bible because I've been able to do this, because he has helped transform my life through the Bible, because he has shown me so many things that I need to work on through the Bible itself and through our Bible study time. So this is definitely something that I have personally done that I'm so excited to share with you about. So let's get into today's episode. So welcome to Step Into Bold Faith. This is the podcast for Christian women who want to learn how to study the Bible so it transforms their lives and grows their faith. And I'm so happy that God brought you here today. If you are here, it is definitely not a coincidence. And I just know that he is really working to do something special in your life and helping you become more motivated, inspired, excited to learn about the Bible. It is such a gift. And I'm sure he is just so happy that you are ready to take that next step. So I am so excited again that you're here today and really helping the Bible become something that's more than just like words on a page, something that you read, but you don't feel like you get a lot out of it. This is like something that I personally feel super, super connected with and that I'm so excited to talk to you about today because I personally really feel like the Bible's always revealing to me exactly what I need to know. God's always speaking to me through it. He's always showing me different things where I can, you know, become transformed. Even just the other day, I was reading in my Bible and I was in Exodus and I was reading about some things that I really feel like God was like, hey, you really need to pay attention to this. Like even just the not working on the Sabbath Sunday or some of the different rules that he started kind of mentioning in Exodus that we need to be following as Christian women. And I asked him about that. I was like, God, please reveal to me what you want me to know right now. Like, where do I need to go in the Bible? Do I need to go somewhere different? And he said yes. And he brought me into Deuteronomy. And in Deuteronomy, it was even more of these same rules and guidelines and things that we need to be following as Christian women. And I ended up jumping from Exodus into Deuteronomy, which had never happened to me before. But that never would have happened if I didn't actually ask him directly to be like, hey, God, what do you want me to see right now? What do you want to reveal to me? Where do you want me to go in the Bible right now? Like, what are you trying to show me right now? And because I asked him that direct question, he directly showed me the answer. And so this is just a lesson for like faith in general, is if we don't aren't asking the right questions, if we aren't direct with God, he's not gonna be direct back with us, right? We always, we always get what we give, right? So if we're giving like, hey, I want a direct answer, he's gonna give that back to us. So be direct with him. And it's always worked for me, and he's very direct back and will give me what I need, you know. So it brought me into Deuteronomy and I ended up, you know, getting a lot of out of it. And he showed me a lot of the different, you know, guidelines and things we need to be following as Christian women and just a lot of like the faith basics were in there, and it was just so cool and interesting to read about. I personally really, really enjoyed that. And so this is just a story I threw in here before I get into the actual teaching today, because it is so important to know that when I talk about these things throughout, you know, Bible study made simple, that you know that it's coming from a place of like, I've actually done this myself and this has worked for me, and these are the things that I do all the time, and that I do have, you know, personal stories or things that have happened or that have worked for me, you know, that I really want to share with you because I want this to work for you too. Because it's so, so amazing when you feel like you open up the Bible and you feel like it was made just for you and it's speaking to you and it's giving you life and it's giving you what you need and it's you know transforming you from the inside out, and it really does that. So that was just a little story of how this has actually worked for me because I asked him and I and I did that. It it really was revealed to me in the ways that I wanted. So, of course, we're gonna talk about the tools that we need. So when we're going to study our Bible, and if we want things to actually be revealed and we want to see what God's trying to show us through our Bible, obviously we need our Bible, and I always highly recommend you have your Bible highlighters and your pencil with you for journaling. And you can find all of that in the link in the show notes under the best Bible study tools you need to buy from Amazon. And so those tools will all be listed into all my personal favorite things you need. So make sure to get the right tools out before you start doing any of these things that we're gonna talk about within today's episode. So now let's get into the actual teaching. So today I wanted to go over five ways that you can do this, that you can make it feel like God is revealing things to you directly through the Bible and is speaking to you, showing you things. And in the Bible can honestly become like a mirror and it shows you exactly what you need in order to become transformed. So, way number one is to approach the Bible with the right perspective. And that's through prayer and having patience with it and connecting with God and asking him for things, right? But really making sure to actually pray. This is like way number one, is that before you even read, like prepare yourself to connect with God, prepare yourself to want to be transformed by it, prepare yourself to be open to what it has in store for you, what he wants to show you, to not have any guards up, to just be ready and open to receive what he wants to show you, right? So open your heart and also have the patience slow down, you know, not try to rush through the Bible. The Bible is something that we can we can take as much time as we need to get through it. It's not something that's supposed to be rushed. So making sure that we're we're patient and we're going slow with it and we're having this right perspective and that we're asking him, you know, God, please help show me what you want to be revealed to me. Where do you want me to go in the Bible today, Lord? What needs to be revealed to me? What are you trying to show me? So that is way number one. Way number two is to stay consistent enough to notice the patterns. So if you start and stop your Bible all the time, you're not gonna notice these patterns. You're not gonna, he's not gonna show you things that need to be revealed to you because you're staying surface level because you're not doing it enough. Things started being revealed to me in the Bible when I genuinely had an interest in it, when I showed up and I was like ready to learn and soak it up like a sponge. Like when I was ready to fully become invested and transformed by it, that's when these things started happening for me. They didn't happen when I just sat there and read it like a checklist and like a to-do list on my item, like a to-do list on my checklist sheet, right? To be like, hey, I did this thing today. No, I became transformed by it. It started revealing itself like a mirror when I started sitting there and I was like invested in it and excited to learn about it. And he knows that, right? And he knows when we're invested and we're ready to show up and we're ready to really learn from it. And so then it can transform us. But in order to even do that, you have to stay consistent enough to get past that surface level, just like reading it phase, and you move into different tiers of like Bible study, and it'll grow you in different ways as you take time to learn from it, right? And you take time to do it. So the more consistent you are in the Bible, the more likely you are to notice repeated themes, repeated convictions, repeated encouragement, areas he keeps bringing you back to, specific books he keeps back bringing you back to, specific Bible verses he keeps bringing you back to. So the importance of showing up regularly is so, so important because how one verse may stand out one day might become more clear over time and he might bring you into repeated things, just like he did for me. Like I get uh told and he he shows me a lot about like the laws and the guidelines and the step-by-step how-to in the education of like this is how we should live our lives as Christians, because this is something I'm really, really trying to work on is being a great Christian woman of faith, where I am a living representation of what the Bible is telling me. And and based off of my conversations with Jesus, I'm reflecting that through the word, right? So making sure that we're being consistent helps it to feel more personal and helps him to want to show us what we're doing, but we have to start showing up first. If we don't start showing up first and putting in our best effort, he's not gonna put in his best effort to even make it about us because he's just gonna want us to stay service level and just read it to feel more generalized just to get started. So, way number three is to use journaling and simple study tools to really slow down and pay attention, like your Bible highlighting, like your journaling, like taking notes, like seeing what stands out and writing notes and doing your things inside your Bible. It's so important. But even just starting with like one of the steps of the Bible highlighting or doing journaling or writing down questions as you're working through it, right? Just really slowing down and being intentional and starting to figure out ways where you can really soak up your time in the Bible and not just making it where you're reading words on a page. It's so important and it's gonna really help things become revealed to you because you're not just like rushing through it and eager to get to the next thing just to finish it right. When you slow down enough to pay attention, that is when different things will start being stood out to you, or you'll be able to notice more things because you are paying attention and you're deeply invested in it. Way number four is to ask the right questions so you can really dig deeper. So, not like goes along with the prayer thing, but making sure that you're really asking questions, being like, you know, what's what's standing out to me here? Why does this seem like it matters? What does this show me about God? What does this show me about myself? Is this encouraging me? Is this something that should be applying to my life right now? What area of my life should this be applying to? Is this relevant to something that I'm struggling with? Right. And and starting to ask these kind of questions to yourself when you're going and doing these kind of things, because as you're in the Bible, if you don't ask the right questions, if you're not actually trying to actively dig deeper into it, if you're staying surface level, again, things aren't going to be revealed to you because you're staying at the most basic level. But when you start sitting there and really thinking about it and asking questions and trying to dig deeper and trying to see what it's revealing to you through asking more questions and really thinking about the text, then it's gonna really, really start being revealed to you. And it really will start helping with your understanding and all the things too. And he'll want to show you more and he'll want to answer a lot of these questions for you too. And you can also like look up some of the answers to these questions and also pray about some of these answers or just think about it and take time. Okay, so now last way, way number five, is to look for themes, convictions, encouragement, and practical application. So a lot of times things can be revealed through the Bible, through like repeated themes, through convictions about something that needs to be changed. Like maybe you've already been thinking about something that needs to be changed, and then you just keep seeing it anyways in the Bible, and you're like, I know, I know, but you actually have to do it, but you're like, I know. Literally at church, like yesterday or two days ago, in the morning on the way to church, I was like, you know what? I really need to get better about being on time for things. Like I am someone, like I I have never been great about being on time. This is something I'm personally really working on. And then in church, the pastor said something about not being late and like you need to be committed to being on time, even for God. Like, we need to be on time for Him and to show up and to show Him that we're committed to things. And I was like, this is just my sign. I really need to try to be more on time to stuff. So here we are trying to be more on time. But, anyways, so convictions can come in multiple different ways, right? But like a lot of times they are revealed directly through the Bible, like when you're reading about something, or maybe, you know, it's something you read about something encouraging, or something that just really relates and really uplifts your soul, and you're like, I really needed that, you know? Or maybe there's a truth that you read that shifts your perspective and you're like, oh, that was really good. Like maybe that was something God was revealing to me, or maybe a practical next step that you need to take, or maybe literal instructions. He's giving you literal instructions of like, here is what you need to do for X, Y, Z, right? And so it can be kind of vague, but it also can be really, really specific. Like I have both with God where he's like very vague about things and like only wants to give me a little bit, but then sometimes he's like, this is what you're doing, and this is how you're gonna do it. And this is your step-by-step process for it. Like, even with just like life, like with my general faith, right? Like, even the other day I was in the grocery store and I was talking to this lady and he was like, You need to buy that lady flowers, like ask her what kind of flowers she likes. And I asked her what kind of, I was like, Do you like flowers? She's like, I love flowers. I was like, Oh, good. Like, what's your favorite color? And she's like, Oh, yellow. And I like ran to the flower section as I was like in the checkout line and I bought her these flowers. But, anyways, so and she just loved it. It like made her day and I made my day. But the point is that sometimes he's very, very specific. And then sometimes he's just like, Yeah, you're, you know, this is coming for you and your family, or this is happening for you and your family soon. I'm like, okay, great. What is soon? Is soon in five minutes? Is soon in three hours? Is it in two weeks? Is it in six months? I don't know. So you know what? Sometimes he can be very general and sometimes he can be very specific, but just having that again, that's a part of the mindset thing is like being open-minded to whatever he has, whenever he has it for you, right? And so again, some of those things for like way number five is like repeated themes, convictions, encouragement, truths that'll help shift perspectives, practical next steps, direct guidance, all the different things. So again, like the Bible can really show us like what is true, maybe what's out of alignment in our lives, what needs to be changed, where we need to grow, what God might be wanting us to change or inviting us into. And so again, it's not just about like what did I read today? It's about like how did I what I read, how can this actually apply to my life? How can this change the way that I'm thinking, the way that I live, the way that I respond to people, the way that I trust people, like what needs to change? So that was my five, those were the five ways. So let's go back through them again really quick. So, way number one was to approach the Bible with the right perspective, including prayer, patience, and being open-minded, seeing what it wants to be revealing to you. Way number two was to stay consistent enough to actually notice the right patterns that are coming to you. Way number three was to use journaling and simple Bible study tools to slow down and pay attention. Way number four was to ask the right questions so you can really dig deeper. And way number five was to look for themes, convictions, encouragement, and practical application steps and guidance. So I really actually ended up liking this episode today. I'm very pleased with this. I think that this was very helpful. I hope so at least. I would love to know any feedback that you have for me. If you ever have any feedback or you want to talk to me, send me a DM at Step in a Bold Faith on Instagram or TikTok. And I would be more than happy to talk through anything that you have for me. I love talking with each and every one of you. It's so fun. I respond to each and every DM. People are always like, oh my gosh, you responded. I was like, yes, I love talking to my people. I love feedback, I love guidance. Um, anyways, okay, so now that we went over our recap, our action step is tomorrow, when you read your Bible, pray and ask God to reveal to you what he wants you to see or ask him to take you to a specific passage book of the Bible and see what he wants to reveal to you. You've got this. I know that it might be kind of a shift at first, especially if you are kind of used to staying surface level in your Bible study to go deeper and really think about all these things that we talked about today, but I really do hope it's so helpful and I'm so excited for you. And so now that we're almost to the end of this episode, I really wanted to share something so exciting that I wanted to announce. So I am officially now offering multiple ways to be able to support you in making Bible study simple, understanding the Bible more deeply, staying consistent in it, making it feel like it was made just for you so it can truly transform your life and grow your faith. So whether you're looking for a Bible study guide, a supportive community, or a deeper level of support with me personally, there is a next step for you. And you can find all the information linked in the show notes right now. So at the end of this episode, head to the link in the show notes and check out all of the new offers that I have. I'm so excited. I think that they're great. I think that they're gonna be so, so valuable. And I really would love for you to take your next step at the end of this episode. So for now, let's end in our prayer. God, thank you so much for each and every woman listening to this right now, Lord. I am just so grateful that they want to get closer to you through the Bible, that they want things to be revealed to them through your word, Lord. When I'm not there, just speak to them. Have the Holy Spirit be moving in them, Lord. Have it just be telling them exactly where they need to go and what they need to be doing and how they can be transformed through your word, Lord. Everyone wants to be impacted and for the Bible to be a mirror for them, to be able to see what they need to see, where their blind spots are and how they need to grow as Christian women, Lord, so they can show up as the best versions of themselves for not only themselves, but for their families and for the world and for their community and for so many people who need them to become more like Jesus, Lord. So just in your name, I ask for all those things and even more. And we love you so much. We worship you in Jesus' name, amen. So until next time, thank you so much for coming along the journey with me. And let's keep stepping into bold faith together. Bye.