We become what we behold. “It is the nature of this life that we must fight daily to make room in our line of sight for that-which-transcends . . . If we spend our time gazing only on lesser things, we will become like them, measuring our years in terms of human glory” (pg. 151).
As children of God, we are called to be students of the Bible so that we “may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Wilkins takes studying the Bible to a deeper level. She reveals the extreme importance of becoming bible-literate in order to behold our God more through His Word. She lovingly points out common incorrect approaches to studying the Bible (guilty of several of them right here!) that are not best practice and can hinder true understanding, comprehension, interpretation, and application of the text.
Her premise of studying the Word is through the 5 P’s: Purpose, Perspective, Patience, Process, and Prayer. At the end, she pulls it all together by walking the reader through a passage in James using the 5 P’s. It helped me to see the process in action.
A word of caution: it is intimidating. Wilkins is very thorough and detailed. My perfection struggles kicked in and I wanted to be able to do my Bible study like this right away, every day. The truth is, I can’t do all steps of the process every day as some days do not allow it and it will take time and practice to build this discipline of study. After all, “the process of gaining understanding is not easy and can often be frustrating” (pg. 76). Wilkins sympathizes with the reader on the difficulty of the process but encourages us to allow grace and time because the reward is so rich.
As a single woman, this is the opportune season to start developing habits and practices of studying the Word. As Wilkin says, “Women cannot always rely on life giving them ample opportunity to study the Bible” (pg. 82). As single women who have the purpose of being concerned about the things of the Lord and how to be holy both in body and spirit (1 Corinthians 7:34), there is no better time than during the season of singleness to start digging deeply in the Word.
“But be warned: The Word is living and active. It will conform you by dividing you. And in the dividing, miracle of miracles, it will render you whole” (pg. 152). Be ready for a divided wholeness through studying the Word of God!
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