How many of us have already skipped out on our Bible reading plan? The good news is that you are not alone in this. And it often starts subtly. One missed day in January turns into six months away from the Word.
Because if we were honest, our Bibles spend more time winning over dust mites than winning over our hearts.
If you are already struggling with your Bible reading plan, check out these five changes that excite you to follow through.
Must be present to win
Why do we quit reading the Bible? It is because we are not seeing results. We struggle to stay awake and our mind wanders. But we can never get to the exciting part without showing up.
- You can't hit homeruns if you don't show up for practice.
- We can't lose weight if we skip our exercise routine.
- We can't stop spending money by surfing Amazon 24/7
In the same way, it is ok to admit that we aren’t feeling like it in the beginning. But the key to our Bible reading plan changing our life is to show up day after day.
To understand this truth, the more you read your Bible, the more you want to read your Bible. The less you read your Bible, the less you will read your Bible.
If you make this commitment day after day, I promise you boring will turn into exciting. The discipline of taking time with God will turn into the home run of God moving into your life.
Make the time now or later
Our spiritual lives could be compared to buildings. Sometimes the cost to repair a building is so high we put it off.
But there comes a time when our choice to ignore the problem costs us much more money.
The same could be said when it comes to our Bible reading plan. If we put it off, we will have to pay for not knowing God’s will for our life. And will be leaving ourselves open to attack from the enemy.
So make no mistake, we will make time for God’s Word. It will either be a preparation for battle or fix wounds that could have been prevented.
So the way that you make time now for your Bible reading plan is to change up your expectations. God doesn’t have a set rule on the best time. The question you have to ask is, what is the best time for you?
- For mothers it maybe after everyone has gone to bed
- For busy dads it might be listening to an audio Bible plan on the way to work.
- For some it could be on their lunch break or before anyone gets up in the morning.
Now, once you have set your time it is important to guard those moments with your life. Put it on your schedule and let everyone know your attention is on God’s Word for those moments.
Invite others on Your Bible REading plan journey
Include others on your Bible reading plan journey. Here are some ideas to ignite your passion for God’s Word.
- Use Bible Apps that let your friends go through a plan together.
- Start a group message on FB or group text for everyone to contribute their insights during the week.
- Ask everyone in the group to pray for each others progress.
Changing the dynamic from individual to community-oriented allows accountability to happen. No accountability is why we give up when we miss a day. And this approach takes care of that issue.
Also, let’s be honest; doing something alongside others is more rewarding.
Stop getting the 'why' wrong
We will never last if we try to stay faithful to a Bible reading plan to check a box. Reading scripture like a chore that needs to be done will always produce guilt and resentment.
We all know the story of the guilt that sets in when we miss a day. Or the resentment of what we could be doing with our time.
But the truth is that we become more faithful to the Word when we know the Father behind the Word.
When we set our minds right with the gospel’s truth, our attitude changes; we read a love letter from the God of the Universe. And as we open His Word, we can be uplifted by the story of redemption within its pages.
We will then approach the Bible reading plan with the mindset that God will reveal His plan for our lives. This is an “I can’t wait to read what God has for me next” mindset!
It is almost the difference between reading a treasure map and a procedure manual. One is exciting the other can be dull.
Find the right Bible reading plan fit for you
Everyone needs shoes. But we don’t all wear the same size. Bible reading plans are very similar. The best plan for you is the one that you will follow. Don’t feel bad if you can’t get into your friend’s favorite Bible plan.
Hundreds of thousands of websites, apps, and books are just a click away. You don’t even have to feel pressured to read the Bible through in one year. It is ok if you split it up into two years.
- If you like the Chronological Bible plan go for it.
- If you are an audio book person go for an audio version of your favorite Bible plan.
- If you want to split up the Bible into more than one year that is ok also.
Lastly, the enemy doesn’t have to convince us the Bible isn’t true. All he has to do is to convince us to skip reading it one more day. And unfortunately, that one more day can turn into the rest of our lives if we aren’t careful.