What does Ellen White write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "Why do I find the Bible boring and tedious, even though I wish I found it interesting? What can I do? Please help me without making me depressed."
Answer
None of the passages provided answers your entire question on its own, but together they offer ideas and encouragement for the different aspects of your experience. It is understandable that you feel frustrated: You want to be interested, and yet reading feels like a struggle. That does not mean you have to force yourself to feel a certain way. You can gently try out what helps you and trust that your faith is not measured by your enthusiasm at this moment.
Why the Bible can seem boring
»To some, the word of God is uninteresting. The reason is that they have indulged so long in the fascinating stories found in the literature of the present day that they have no taste for reading the word of God or for religious exercises.«
White describes one possible experience here: Other stories can capture our attention immediately, while the Bible may initially be harder to understand. This passage does not tell us whether that applies to you. There is no need to blame yourself for it, either.
How Bible reading can become more engaging
»We should carefully study the Bible, asking God for the aid of the Holy Spirit, that we may understand His word. We should take one verse, and concentrate the mind on the task of ascertaining the thought which God has put in that verse for us. We should dwell upon the thought until it becomes our own, and we know “what saith the Lord.”«
Perhaps you could try reading without setting a goal: Take a single verse, read it slowly, and ask yourself, “What stands out to me? What do I not yet understand?” Beforehand, you could offer a simple prayer: “God, help me discover something.” Even if nothing feels particularly special at first, it is okay to stop after a few minutes.
Encouragement without guilt
»At times a deep sense of our unworthiness will send a thrill of terror through the soul; but this is no evidence that God has changed toward us, or we toward God. No effort should be made to rein the mind up to a certain intensity of emotion. We may not feel today the peace and joy which we felt yesterday; but we should by faith grasp the hand of Christ, and trust Him as fully in the darkness as in the light.«
You do not have to manufacture joy in order to be close to God. Your desire to grow closer to Him and to the Bible can develop at your own pace, without the pressure to feel something special all the time.
Original Sources (English)
Stephan Krol
Founder of EGW Vision
Why I built EGW Vision
Hello, I am Stephan Krol. I started this Ellen White website to make the writings of Ellen G. White and the Adventist pioneers easier to access for everyone.
EGW Vision helps you find topics, statements, and quotes faster, especially when many original sources are not yet fully available in your language. The tool searches semantically, groups relevant content by topic, and presents matching results as clearly as possible in your language.
My hope is that this tool supports personal Bible study, strengthens trust in the original sources, and helps more people discover the message of these writings with clarity, depth, and joy.
