Our 20th anniversary began in a rental-car line.
My wife and I were in Southern France for the first time. A couple ahead of us unfolded a huge map and started marking every must-see place. Soon, more people joined in. More pins. More stops. More things we simply couldn't miss.
We felt overwhelmed before we'd left the parking lot.
The older traveler
Then an older traveler leaned in. "You have a list now. But more importantly, go EXPLORE and DISCOVER for yourself. This province is rich with good things to find."
We did. That week, we found Southern France for ourselves. My wife discovered a castle shaped like a ship and fell in love with it. It wasn't on anyone's must-see list.
That week taught me something about discovery that I would later recognize in my own journey through Scripture.
The map was not the enemy
Notice what the older traveler did not say. He didn't say, "Throw away the map." We still needed maps and roads to get to the places we discovered. Exploring and navigating worked together.
I think Scripture works the same way. Commentaries, study guides, sermons, and wise pastors and teachers are like good maps. I'm thankful for them. But they don't replace our own FIRSTHAND engagement with God's Word.
The order matters. Before consulting someone else's interpretation, give the passage your own attention. What do you see? What catches your attention? What questions arise? Then bring in the maps others have drawn. Their insights may help you see more clearly, correct what you missed, provide historical and relevant contexts, and discover things you would not have found alone.
A handful of dirt, and a gem
When I first read a passage with God 1-to-1, I may come away with a handful of dirt and one gem. That's fine. I return, dig a little deeper, and begin to see more. What was unclear before may now become clearer. Something I overlooked may now catch my attention.
There is a second lesson in the story. Some travelers we met returned to Southern France year after year. A place worth exploring is worth revisiting.
Yet many of us do the opposite with Scripture. We return to the same few favorite passages throughout our lives and leave much of the Bible unexplored.
We need both depth and breadth: return to familiar passages, and venture beyond them. For me, that is part of what makes reading Scripture a lifelong journey of discovery rather than a daily chore.
Who is the older traveler?
Looking back, I hear an echo of the Holy Spirit's invitation in that older traveler's advice: explore, discover, and don't assume someone else's map shows you everything worth seeing.
Jesus said the Spirit of truth "will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13, ESV). The psalmist prayed, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law" (Psalm 119:18, ESV).
That is the posture I want to cultivate. I don't explore God's Word alone. I come to Him in prayer, asking the Spirit to help me see what I might otherwise miss.
My first move, then, isn't a method. It's a prayer.
Three habits
Here is what I try to do now. You can try it in your 1-to-1 tomorrow morning.
Ask. "Heavenly Father, what do You want me to SEE here today?"
Look. Read the passage slowly, with the Holy Spirit, and notice what is actually there before consulting commentaries or study guides.
Return. Come back to the passage time and again. Dig a little deeper each time.
Why this belongs in a Lab about WORK
Many of us live with a gap: FAITH on Sunday, WORK on Monday. As I see it, the gap starts to close when we WALK with God first, and then WORK from that WALK.
Restful WALK comes before Restful WORK
Meeting God in His Word is a first step, not the whole journey. What we learn as we WALK with Him can begin to shape how we lead, decide, serve, and build. The goal is not to add another religious activity to an already crowded schedule. It is to learn to WALK out of our relationship with Him, rather than treating FAITH and WALK as separate parts of life.
The tool that grew out of this
But there's a practical obstacle. Many of us know we need daily 1-to-1 time with God, yet rushed mornings keep pushing it aside. Some struggle to start. Others have started, stopped, and want to begin again.
I built G1 with these time-pressured professionals in mind.
The idea is simple: what if 10 or more minutes with God's Word could be made more purposeful - not by rushing through it, but by making the text easier to SEE?
G1 uses color and visual structure to help reveal relationships within Scripture that can be harder to notice in ordinary reading. The aim is to reduce distractions between the biblical text and our understanding, so that limited time can be spent engaging with the text itself rather than working through layers of summaries and commentary first.
10 minutes may seem small in a crowded day. But 10 minutes invested consistently, day after day, can become a meaningful habit of meeting God 1-to-1 in His Word and calibrating our mind for the rest of the day.
G1 is not a substitute for that relationship, a guarantee of instant insight, or a replacement for teachers and commentaries. It is a tool to help and support you to begin - and keep returning.
I've made the first 7 Psalms available in The Weekly Walks Vol. 1. Each Psalm offers multiple interactive views, allowing you to begin with a broad view and examine the passage in greater detail as you wish.
Panoramic Pass - $9. 3 views per Psalm, including the 360 Composite view.
Full Access - $35. All 10 views per Psalm, plus bonus materials.
Companion PDF Series - $15. A PDF series to keep, without the interactive tool.
These are one-time purchases, with no paid membership. A free subscription is how you access the interactive version. Launch pricing runs through November 6.
One question for you
Where might God be inviting you to explore for yourself?
What comes next
Next time, I'll share a question I first heard in a forecasting meeting:
"Did the source ACTUALLY say that?"
I didn't expect it to change how I read Scripture - or how I came to design G1.
Subscribe free at restfulworkagain.com to receive Psalm 1 three formats - watch the Reel, listen, or explore it interactively - alongside our nine-email starter series.
Explore The Weekly Walks Vol. 1 at restfulworkagain.com/weekly-walk.