Over the years, I have used many Bible reading plans. I can honestly say that those plans have helped me to read more of the Bible. They have allowed me to read the Bible through many times. I have a greater understanding of God and His work in sending Jesus for us.
At the same time, reading plans have not always been easy or even completed. Likely you have experienced some of the same challenges I have:
- missed days leading to getting behind,
- some readings/days that are boring,
- difficulty focusing on what is being read,
- quitting because I was so far behind,
- no immediate sense of progress or growth,
- allowing Bible study time to become routine,
- reading to check my duty off the list,
- and more.
How do you turn Bible reading into relationship time with God? How can you make the most of this spiritual growth opportunity? What can you do to turn your Bible reading into a daily experience you don’t want to miss?
My simple suggestion from personal experience is journaling. Get your Bible, a pen, and a bound set of paper. The paper can be a journal, a notepad, a spiral bound notebook, or other.
Daily write down the date, passage(s) read, and questions along with insights from God. Being careful to seek understanding about the original context, write down what God is saying and how He expects you to respond.
Then every few days read recent entries–paying close attention to how He expected you to respond. The purpose is to see if you have obeyed (are obeying).
How does this help? Why does this work? When your Bible reading becomes an appointment with a living God, you look forward to the time. You pay more attention. Your relationship and understanding grows.
I want to challenge you to try it for no less than three weeks. This is the amount of time it takes to develop a new habit. If you give it three weeks, I believe journaling will move from an awkward struggle to a natural spiritual discipline and relationship time with God.
Read. Journal. Listen to Him. Follow where He leads. Make disciples. For more ideas about spiritual growth, check out these blog posts: