How Can The Bible Help You?

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

At the beginning of last week, I decided I was going to throw together a quick pasta salad to have for lunches for the following few days. I had already made sure to buy all of the ingredients at the store over the weekend, so I was set and ready to go.

I chopped the salami and cherry tomatoes. I shredded the cheese. I boiled the pasta, and I diced the cucumber. After I grabbed the bottle of Italian dressing out of the fridge, the only thing I had left to do was open the can of sliced olives and I’d be ready to assemble this bad boy.

But when I opened the drawer containing all of my kitchen utensils – tongs, spatulas, measuring spoons, etc. – I couldn’t find the can opener. I knew for a fact I had a can opener somewhere, but for the life of me, I could not figure out where it was.

So what did I do? I googled “How to open a can without a can opener.” I was then directed to an article that explained how to (safely) stab the top of the can with a knife over and over, making little slits around the top of the can until I could pull the lid of the can up and empty the contents.

Believe me, it sounds a lot easier than it was. I struggled with that can longer than I should have before I finally got it open. A job that would have taken 15 seconds with a can opener took 15 minutes with a knife.

After I finally opened the can and assembled my pasta salad, I thought about the olive can-opening experience and how it parallels to our lives as followers of Jesus. (That’s not a sentence I ever thought would exist, but here we are.)

God has given us a tool to help us as we walk through life: His Word. Using this tool and aligning our lives with Scripture will ultimately help us live our lives in accordance with God’s will. And when we are in line with God’s will, we will experience more joy, more peace, more contentment, and more fulfillment than we ever could outside of His will.

However, if we try to go about our lives without using this tool God gave us, if we ignore His Word and choose not to read it and abide by it, then we’re going to have a much tougher time. We’re going to be more easily frustrated, tired, angry, bitter, and impatient, much like I was as I tried to open up that can of olives using a knife instead of a can opener.

We have access to the most helpful tool we could ever have in this life. God’s Word has a lot to offer us when we need guidance and direction. The Bible has so much to say about relationships, finances, conflict management, work, anxiety, trust, forgiveness, purpose, identity, and so many other things. It’s the best place to go when you need advice on how to live the life God has marked out for you. So if you have access to that, why wouldn’t you use it?

What if I had told you that yesterday, when I went to open that can, there was a can opener in the drawer, but I chose to use a knife instead? You would have thought I was crazy, right? If you had been in the kitchen with me, you probably would have said something like, “Kristen, what are you doing? There’s a can opener right here. It was made to help you with this specific task. Why aren’t you using it?”

I think we would be wise to view Scripture in the same way. God gave us His Word to guide us and help us while we are on this earth. So why wouldn’t we open it, read it, and apply it to our lives?

If it’s been a while since you’ve opened your Bible and sought guidance and direction from God’s Word, I would encourage you to pick it back up today and begin to dive into Scripture. Ask the Lord to reveal to you what you need to hear or read. Allow Him to speak to you as you spend time studying the Scripture. And finally, be expectant for Him to provide you with the help you’re looking for as you apply what you read to your life each day.