Scripture written by folks long ago and far away can sometimes seem detached from us in the here and now. However, God is timeless and His word reaches across the years and speaks to our situations. With some passages, it takes a little personalization during your quiet time to see it. The Psalms are a great place to start. Many of them are written in first person. My son has had a rough year in school and has latched on to Psalm 56. It’s a great first person psalm about being hassled by enemies all day long. It includes “In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Other Psalms can be converted- I read Psalm 66 recently, and changed the ‘our’ pronouns to ‘my’ pronouns in my mind.
Who keeps [my] soul among the living,
And does not allow [my] feet to be moved.
For You, O God, have tested [me];
You have refined [me] as silver is refined…
[I] went through fire and through water;
But You brought [me] out to rich fulfillment.
In the New Testament, any passage that refers to believers can be personalized. One of my favorites is Ephesians 2:4-10.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved [me],
5 Even when [I was] dead in trespasses, made [me] alive together with Christ (by grace [I] have been saved),
6 And raised [me] up together, and made [me] sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward [me] in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace [I] have been saved through faith, and that not of [myself]; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For [I am] His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that [I] should walk in them.
We are not just a number or a name in a book to God. He knows us intimately and individually. Reading His word as His personal message may help us grasp that.