I have deliberately waited until now to write and publish this post. We are two weeks into the year. This is the point where for many of us, our best intentions to read the Bible this year have either begun to stumble or ground to a halt entirely. For many of us, we read the first half of Genesis and Matthew every year but beyond that, we struggle. So I want to offer a few encouragements to the discouraged and some pointers for those who are still going.
1. Read the Bible without giving up – no matter how many days you “miss”
This is the big one. The time scales, the plans, the deadlines these are all things that we set for ourselves. God does not expect us to read the whole Bible every year, at a consistent pace through the year. God will not be displeased if you have read Romans 8 times, but never touched Habakkuk. All of these things are arbitrary and self imposed. These plans we set for ourselves are not unhelpful until they become an end in themselves. What I mean is, the the Bible reading plan has the purpose of getting us to read the Bible – not that we complete the plan. Or we give up on the Bible because we have failed the plan. So keep going and keep coming back. And keep on keeping going. Giving up doesn’t mean you never miss a day or a week or a month.
2. Read in different ways through the year
There are many ways to read the Bible and they all have value. Sometimes, we can zero in on a few verses or even one verse and really chew it over, meditating on it. Sometimes we can skim read long chunks. Sometimes we can sit down for an hour or two of deeper study. They are all great ways to engage with the Word of God and through the year, I’d recommend giving some time to each. The problem of the 3-4 chapters a day Bible reading plan is that the passages are lengthy enough that it becomes hard to have time and scope to focus in on details or deepen our understanding of the text but short enough that it is harder to gain a broader view of where we are and where we are going. Mixing it up can really help us, in the same way that to truly understand what a forest is you need to see it from far away to get the whole sweep but also look at trees, bark, roots, leaves, insects and birds, bushes and animals.
3. Read with a plan – but not too rigid
A plan to read the Bible in a year is a really good idea, however I would tentatively suggest that we should only commit to this if we have time to do other things alongside it. As mentioned above, it’s good to allow time for lengthier study. With this, I tend to plan 3 months ahead. I may sit down once a week for a longer time to read and study a bit more in depth. What I do may coincide with what we are looking at in church or in small groups, or it may be something else. We can do this with study notes, with others or just by ourselves. Some pre-prepared plans that I would recommend would be the 5 Day Bible Reading plan (whereby you aim to read the Bible in a year using 5 days of the week), Search the Scriptures which goes through the whole Bible in 3 years with a few questions for each passage, or getting Explore Notes from the Good Book Company.
4. Talk about it with others
Something I do not do very much but am wanting to draw in more. We often read the Bible when it’s quiet and we can undistracted. This is really good, but then we do not talk about it with anyone. Our family never see us reading the Bible and never hear about our encouragements and our challenges. It occurred to me recently (it was gently pointed out to me) that my children never see me reading the Bible. This really saddened me. As we read we can discuss it with family, with friends, I’ve even known of some WhatsApp groups or twitter groups discussing things the read in the Bible.
5. Remember your purpose
This is also the big one…perhaps bigger. This is true in all our reading and our teaching of Scripture. In our sermons and our Bible studies as well. The purpose is not to complete a reading plan or do our quiet time to tick the box. The purpose is not perfect exegesis and understanding of the passage. Nor is it to get to the point where you can agree that yes, the main point and main application that I already knew is in fact the main point and main application. Reading the Bible and prayer is the primary means by which we enjoy relationship with God and through this relationship, as God the Holy Spirit, ministers the Word of God to us, our hearts and minds are shaped and our character is changed. The purpose is to enjoy that relationship and for our ‘affections’ to be changed. And this is a process that happens over time. Some days, we will notice and be especially struck or challenged and see the impact it has on us. Some days we won’t.
