I have never been really good at reading devotional books. I guess I find that the books are encouraging me to do something, or to feel a certain way, or to believe a certain thing about God. It only takes a few pages for me to agree that I should be doing, feeling, or believing whatever it is they’re telling me, and I just want to get on with it.
However, with the huge volume of devotional books out there, I guess I am in the minority. I know folks who say that they have trouble reading the Bible directly, but enjoy a devotional book instead. To me, this is like reading a movie review: I could read any number of reviews about a particular film, but I’ll never experience it for myself unless I actually attend the movie. For those of us who enjoy what a friend calls “Christian consumables,” maybe we can work on stoping with the reviews, and instead enjoy the show.
I don’t think it matters whether you are reading the Bible or a devotional book as long as you are engaging with God as a result. I can read the Bible and gain nothing from it just as easily as any other book if I am just reading rather than using it as a dialogue with my Creator, using it as a tool in my relationship with the One who pursues me, the One whom I seek.