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With a new year comes a certain amount of reflection. We look at things we’ve failed at this year and tell ourselves things are finally going to be different.
- We’re tired of being couch potatoes, so on January 1st we’re buying a premium gym membership.
- McDonald’s makes us feel sluggish and gross, so from now on it’s nothing but home-cooked meals.
- We realize we haven’t read a book since school, so this year we’re knocking out one book every month.
But after a few weeks, maybe even a few months, things start to fall apart. The excitement of exercise wears off and we find reasons not to visit the gym as often. Our schedule gets busy and we make compromises for eating out. We feel burned out at the end of our first book and can’t find the motivation to start a new one.
Many Christians will be looking back at 2019 with regret at how little they’ve opened their Bibles. They know they should read more, but it just never happened. But 2020 is a fresh start, and this time we’ll surely get into God’s word and not just read it more often, but read it all. And we will definitely succeed this time, right?
According to one study, only 8% of people actually reach their New Years’ resolutions. Most of us will likely give up on them before the end of January, with more dropping off in the next few months. In 2020, very few Christians are likely to be part of the successful 8% when it comes to their Bible reading, and I think there’s one big reason why.
Why you’re unlikely to read your Bible in a year
Of course, we all should read the entire Bible. It’s even worthwhile to read through it in an entire year. It gives us the opportunity to see the entire picture of the Bible, seeing how God’s dealings with Old Testament Israel is a shadow of Jesus Christ and our ultimate need for a savior. Reading the entire Bible gets us out of reading a single verse every day and instead puts us elbows-deep in the context of biblical history.
But only if we already know how to read the Bible regularly.
For most people, the discipline of regular Bible reading is still a struggle. At best, many Christians may read 1 or 2 verses every day. It’s like reading a text message from God – it’s quick, simple, and often easily forgotten. At worst, most Christians get most of their exposure to the Bible through their pastor’s sermons and maybe a Christian radio station.
That’s not meant to put anyone to shame, but if we’re honest we must admit that it’s fairly accurate. According to Pew Research, only 35% of people who claim to read the Bible actually do so more than once a week, while 45% of Bible readers admit to rarely reading it at all. The reality is that many people love Christ, but we don’t know how to read the Bible.
And this is why most Christians will not only fail to read the Bible in a year, but will fall back into 2019’s pattern of rarely reading it at all.
From couch potato to marathon runner
If someone isn’t already reading their Bible often, trying to do so in a year will rarely have the desired impact. Every ounce of God’s word is absolutely valuable, even the “boring stuff” in Leviticus and Numbers. However, it can be difficult to see the beautiful purpose of the Old Testament law if we don’t first understand the New Testament grace that we currently enjoy. It’s not impossible, but it’s certainly difficult.
In 2020, many Christians will be attempting to transition from rarely exercising to immediately entering into high-intensity marathon training. Rather than building on the fundamentals of strengthening their muscles and endurance, slowly turning small gains into bigger ones, they will try entering a daily routine that’s better suited to people who have already spent a few years building a foundation of fitness and strength.
It’s important to realize that there’s no inherent value in reading the Bible in a single year. It’s an impressive feat, and 365 days is a great tool to force us to do something within a certain time frame. However, simply reading words on a page won’t make us more holy or get us any closer to God. It’s our love of His word, fueled by the Holy Spirit, that makes us care about the words He’s inspired. If we don’t already have a foundation of regularly reading the Bible today, we are unlikely to stick with it under a demanding, self-imposed reading schedule.
Desire doesn’t buy us more time
Simply put, going from rarely reading the Bible to trying to read for 30-60 minutes each day can have disastrous consequences because we’re attempting something we’re simply unprepared for. We try to add this new, intense regimen to a life that is already filled with work, family, hobbies, responsibilities, and often a lot of time spent staring at our phones.
When we plan to add something new to our schedule, we rarely account for the added time demands. We know we want to do something but rarely do we realize that to add one thing to our schedule requires us to remove something else.
This is why things like exercise and meal-planning often fail. We love the idea of it, but we don’t properly consider the time demands. Our Bible reading plan can often fall victim to the same problem. When we aren’t already accustomed to setting aside so much time to read our Bibles each day, we must either find something else to give up in its place or burn out because we can’t find time for something we know is important, but is still new and therefore easier to give up.
How to succeed in 2020
That may all sound pretty negative. However, we will rarely succeed at something if we aren’t first honest about our weaknesses. If our goal of reading the entire Bible in 2020 isn’t becaues of the gimmick, then our motivation is probably based on a desire to simply read God’s word more often. That shows a love of God’s word and a desire to be closer to Him, and there’s no better motivation to do anything.
However, reading the Bible in a year isn’t a miracle cure for our lack of Bible reading. Although it’s a wonderful goal, we run the risk of trying, failing, and never making progress because we’re attempting something intense without first training ourselves in the basics.
I’d like to make a few suggestions for those who want to read their Bible more regularly, whether it’s reading through it in a year or simply being more faithful in it.
Choose what you’ll give up for something so important
Whether you want to read the Bible at your own pace or follow a plan, this is critical.
Think of your time during the day like your bank account. You only have so much money, and a lot of it goes to things like rent and food, which leaves you with a small amount for “extra” things. If every dollar in your bank account is already set aside to pay for things like Netflix and your daily Starbucks, then basic math tells us you can’t decide to start going out to a fancy dinner once a month. The desire may be there, but the funds aren’t. If we want to spend $100 on a nice meal, we have to stop spending that $100 elsewhere.
Our time is the same. Whether it’s 5 minutes of Bible reading or an hour, we already use that time throughout the day on something else. We won’t be able to simply add more demands to our set amount of time – we must give up one thing to make room for another.
Reading Plans
For those who like Bible reading plans, Legionnaire Ministries has a wonderful series of plans. There are several plans for reading through the Bible in 1-2 years, as well as some that are more beginner-friendly. One I’d highly recommend is their 5x5x5 New Testament plan. This is wonderful for new readers because it stays in the New Testament, requiring less time each day and giving us content that is more immediately applicable. In fact, my own family will be using this plan for our weekday devotions.
My own church will be using the Bible Project’s app, which has a host of features that not only remind people to read every day, but also has videos to help them learn how to read and understand the Bible. You can check it out at ReadingScripture.org
For those who want to add a touch more to their reading schedule, the Psalms and Proverbs are an excellent complement to the New Testament as we read about the importance of wisdom and see the need to constantly praise our God. You can plan to read a chapter of Proverbs every day of the month, or get through the Psalms in a year by following a schedule similar to this one.
Audio Bibles
There are a number of wonderful ways to get through the Bible without having to read it. Faith Comes By Hearing has a fantastic app called Bible.is with several ways to listen to the Bible as you go about your day. I’ve been using their audio dramatization to listen to the Old Testament, and I can’t speak highly enough of the production quality. If you’re someone who struggles to sit down and read, this is a wonderful way to develop a love for God’s word through exposing ourselves to it in an easily-digestible way.
Commit to reading more, but not more than you can handle
Reading through the Bible in a year is a great challenge for those who already read their Bible regularly and want to add something more to their love of God’s word. If you’re someone who still struggles to set a regular reading schedule, then there’s no shame in focusing on the basics before jumping into something so intense. There’s wisdom in being patient enough to pace ourselves rather than burning out from pursuing a task we aren’t prepared for.
Whatever you do next year, make sure you spend time with God every day. Push yourself to find more and more time to be in the Bible, even if that means going beyond the set schedule of your Bible reading plan. Don’t get frustrated if you fail – the Christian life isn’t decided in a single year, but is strengthened and developed over our entire lifetime. If you don’t read the Bible this year, train yourself so that you’re ready to do it in 2021.
The Bible contains all we need for life and holiness. A major part of pursuing Christ is by becoming good students of the Bible. There’s a wonderful cycle of going to the Bible because we want more of Christ, and by getting more of Christ we find ourselves drawn to the Bible more often.
In 2020, don’t set yourself up for failure. Instead, set yourself up for a year of growing closer to Christ by setting aside those things that distract you. Don’t become so focused on reading the Bible in a year that you call yourself a failure for missing a day. Not all Christians are ready for such a heavy task, and that’s fine.
Instead, make it your goal to prioritize your relationship with Christ by seeking Him in God’s word every day. Find what works for you, stick with it, and push yourself when you’re able. Develop a regular love for God’s word first, and reading all of it will soon become a natural desire.
