I wanted to be able to read through the entire Bible in a year.
I started last July and I stuck with it and only missed a few days here and there. I was a rock star Bible-reading-plan-follower! But then, sometime in February or March of this year, when everyone else was super motivated in their resolutions, mine fizzled. I have 8 weeks to go and I’m 15 weeks behind. Math isn’t my strongest subject, but according to my calculations, I need to read about three day’s worth each day in order to catch up.
To put it another way, I’m 8,971 verses behind.
See? It’s May and I’m working on January. Y’all. That’s a lot of verses.
I’m not going to try to finish this by July. Is that alright? I considered ditching this plan altogether, but I’ve made more progress than I ever have in the past. Honestly, one of the things I need to get better at is not giving up on something because it seems like I can’t do it perfectly. So, I’m sticking it out one day at a time.
Take this with a grain of salt, since I have yet to read through the entire Bible, but I really doubt I’m going to find any passage that mentions the Biblical discipline of reading through all of the Bible in one year. Yes, there is value in making it through the entire book, but if I’m just doing it quickly to get caught up and get it done, I’m not getting much out of it. That misses the point.
What good does it do you to read through the entire Bible in a year if you’re only doing it to check off a box?
So, fellow Bible reading slackers, you are my people. You might not read through the entire Bible this year, but I think you can spend more time in the Word this year than you did last (if you’re anything like me, anyway). Here are some resources I think are helpful:
She Reads Truth– There are some great reading plans that include short devotionals.
YouVersion Bible Reading Plans– You can use the app on your device or you can simply log on to the site on your computer. There are tons of reading plans to choose from.
Women Living Well– Lots and lots of Bible reading plans and resources.
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Whatcha doing for your Bible reading? Do you have a plan? Are you doing something that works?
This is really extreme, and certainly not for everyone. The first time I decided to read through the bible, I decided to read 50 pages a day. That wasn’t unreasonable, since I can easily read 50 pages of another book in a day. So I did it. I was passionate about it and stuck with it for the 19 days it took to get through the entire bible. I read the bible for hours each day, of course, but I got God’s entire message to us in a compact period of time, so it impacted me as a whole, rather than as individual verses. Since then I’ve read through it at various rates, although never with a yearly plan. And now, when I read through it, I allow myself to skip the books I really don’t like (the minor prophets.) But I am a firm believer in reading large sections at a time, because then you get the feel of the entire message of that book. I don’t think the author wrote it to be read in tiny bits. For instance, Paul wrote his letters to be read in their entirety to the church to whom they were addressed. I guess I really have a problem with the whole notion of the bible being difficult to read through. It is God’s love letter to us. Why do people train us to believe that the best way to read that love letter is over the course of an entire year? I’m not saying that we shouldn’t take time to closely study His word, too, but reading it through shouldn’t need to take an entire year. I’m not faulting you – just wondering at the Christian culture that makes it normal to choose to read it in a year.
I do agree that just a few verses here and there don’t really help the reader get a comprehensive view of what it’s really about. Maybe it’s like any reading, some people have an easier time than others when it comes to reading something. I suppose, in the end, if you really are determined to do it, you can find a way to read through the entire Bible.