and studying was not a high priority for me in school. I always just tried to get the studying out of the way so I could go and play soccer or hide and seek or something like that!

I just didn’t have good templates for homework. I guess this was the reason why I never really wanted to sit down and study. Did I hate books? Was there something wrong with me? No, I actually quite loved books. I wouldn’t say that I was a “bookworm”, but I remember during one of the holiday seasons, when the weather was so bad all the time, that we could not go outside to play. I started reading some of the books on my bookshelf.

One of them was a big book about detective stories with Sherlock Holmes. Oh how I loved these stories and how Sherlock Holmes would get the right clues to figure things out! I loved reading these kinds of things!

But studying for a test or sitting down to really study a subject for school was not fun for me. I tried to give enough attention in school class, so I would not have to study any further at home. This mostly worked pretty well through all grades in school, up until I started my job.

But than there came a time where I realized that I had to study and God was making a point in my life, that if I do not study, I will only get so far. This is why I want to look at this subject a bit deeper today. Because there are some secrets I would like to share with you today, how I found that studying is actually a great thing!

Well, let’s start with the first question, like the title already tells us…

Why Should We Study Anyway?

We read in 2.Timothy 2:15

Study to show yourself approved [dokimazo] by God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Obviously it is important for a servant of God that wants to preach the word of God to study, so he can be approved by God. Well, why do we need to be approved by God?

When we “study” this word approved or in Greek dokimazo a bit better, we find in Strongs an interesting comment made by Donald Barnhouse:

In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and no paper money. All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into moulds and allowed to cool. When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to smooth off the uneven edges. The coins were comparatively soft and of course many people shaved them closely. In one century, more than eighty laws were passed in Athens, to stop the practice of shaving down the coins then in circulation. But some money changers were men of integrity, who would accept no counterfeit money. They were men of honour who put only genuine full weighted money into circulation. Such men were called "dokimos" or "approved".

So with this meaning in mind, we can understand better why someone would want to study! If you want to be approved in this case to teach the word of truth, you need to study! Paul said this to his spiritual son, because he knew that only if you study the scriptures and know them well, can you really teach others about it, without going astray and preach deception or even heresy!

So actually the reason for studying is so that you are approved in a subject. Then once you are approved you can go and work in this field of study and use the knowledge you have! There is no profession in the whole world that you can just do without studying.

You need to know something about the profession! Think about it for a moment. Say you want to be a wife and have children. Well, than you had better start preparing yourself for it and study! Your husband will not be impressed if you do not know anything about cooking or ironing or other work that you will have to do around the house.

To be a housewife and mother is quite a big field. You need to know a lot of things to really be a good wife and mother and keep a house going all by yourself, if your husband is working all day long. Can you see that? You better get ready early to learn about that, otherwise you will never be approved by your husband and he will not be very proud of you.

There is no profession that just comes to you naturally. You will have to learn and to study for everything there is under the sun!

Build Good Studying Habits

The most important thing to remember when studying, is to have fun when doing it!

“What? Fun?”

Yes! Fun, you heard me right! To make real progress in your learning, you need to have fun. Without fun you will not really learn a lot at all. You need to make it a fun experience.
“But studying is not fun. It is horrible!”

Yes, this is because most of us grew up in a system where we were forced to study and we just had to do it. So it was more of an obligation than fun. But look at small kids, how fast they learn the language and how fast they pick up new things. It’s amazing!

I once read an article about a schooling system in America, where the kids do not have to come to classes and can choose what they want to do the whole day. The classrooms are open and if you want to attend a class you can, but you don’t have to. And some of the most successful people in society have been to schools like that.

I know… yes, some discipline is needed and things do not just fall from heaven for you. But the point I’m making here is that if you have a joyful learning experience, somehow you will learn much faster. If you really want to learn, than you will learn.

Have you ever studied one of those boring instruction manuals so you could put something together to use it? Man, as boring as it might be, the adrenalin rush you get in thinking of being able to use this item as soon as you put it together makes you study through those pages in a whirlwind and you get it all going in no time!

That leads us a bit astray in another aspect of learning. You usually learn the things that you really have a desire and interest in. These things are easy to learn, but what about the things that don’t interest you?

Usually it’s because you’ve had bad experiences with these things and this is why you did not learn them and do not ever want to learn again. But you can even overcome this with the help of the Lord Jesus. He can help you with these blocks. But these are topics I do not want to touch in this article here.

So how can you build a positive learning experience? The most important thing is to relax and think something positive. Paint a picture of what you will be able to do when you have learned what you want to learn. Think about all the advantages you will have in having the knowledge! Wow, this alone is already giving you positive emotions.

Small Portions at a Time

One thing that is important to help keep the joy and have a positive experience in the learning process, is to do it for just short periods of time at the beginning. Just learn for a short time. Whatever you feel comfortable with. You may be working and only have limited time anyway, so just start with learning one little thing a day.

Learn one little aspect of the whole thing you want to accomplish! If you keep it going for a short time each day, you’ll see that it’s fun and it will not be overwhelming. You can do it. You can sit down for just a short time and study something.

Than as you feel happy with short times, try to stretch it more and more. Perhaps start with a couple of minutes then more and more and more, until you are able to study for longer times without feeling overwhelmed.

Studying is the same as building muscles. You can’t lift the heaviest weight at the beginning! If you lifted the heaviest right away, it would hurt you and you probably wouldn’t want to lift weights again! It’s the same with studying. If you’ve never built a good habit of studying then suddenly try to study for hours and hours, it will kill you right away. It is just too much!

Start slow. Don’t think that you need to run with it like one of these professors that study the whole day long! This is not wise at all! Keep it going slowly, one step at a time. Also depending on how much time you can put into it.

Where Should I Study?

Well, this is up to you really. Where do you feel comfortable learning and studying something? For some people, the car is a great place to study. You can buy CDs to play and listen to while you drive to work. This is a great way of learning new things. You’re already spending this time driving to work anyway.

The most important thing is that you’re comfortable. Get a cup of coffee or whatever gives you a feeling of comfort and sit down and start building a good habit of learning.

I remember when I first started studying my bible. Oh, I hated mornings. Nevertheless this was the best time for me to study my bible, because I did not have much time during the day, and evenings were too busy. So I tried to just build a good habit of making a coffee or something nice that I liked and to sit in my kitchen and read the bible.

The beginning was kind of hard, because I was not used to doing that at all. I could hardly open my eyes to read. But I started reading just a couple of verses for a few minutes and then built it up from there. After a while it became such a good habit for me, that if I did not sit down and read for at least half an hour in the Word, I didn’t want to start the day anymore! I had to have my bible reading!

Then the Lord changed it all around so I had to learn to study during other times of the day. I found that you can build a good habit for learning anywhere. If you keep doing something persistently, making yourself feel comfortable in that environment, you can study anywhere, as long as you can shut the world around you and meditate on what you want to learn.

This takes a bit of practice. This is why at the beginning the best way to learn is to find a nice quiet spot where you can concentrate completely on what you want to learn.

Consistency

It’s important that you are consistent! Keep it going. Once you start forming a good habit, it will happen easily. The first couple of times… couple of hundred times… it may cost you something. Just stick with it keep going.

Try to always study around the same time and in the same spot and you will see that the habit forms quicker. It’s important to keep it going in the same routine. This makes it easier for you to form the habit.

If you do something consistently, you will also see that you will build up your knowledge quicker and it will give you a sense of accomplishment! When you feel that you are accomplishing through the learning, it will help you spend more time learning and for longer periods!

So have fun with your studies and show yourself approved in whatever area the Lord wants you to be approved in! You can do it! Your brain is better than any computer. Just give it a go and start small. Then grow your learning muscle!

And never forget... knowledge is good, but never lean on your own understanding, but trust in the Lord!