I’ve been there. January first, you sit down and read the first five chapters or so of Genesis and you think to yourself, “this will be the year I make it through the entire Bible.” Some time later you find yourself mindlessly scanning the endless genealogies of Numbers. With improbable name pronunciations, repetitive phrases, and mind numbing details, you put your Bible down, scarcely to resume the daily schedule. Reading your Bible is SO important; but why is it hard?

I’d like to address some problems I have had in my studies which have debilitated my daily practice. While doing this, it is my aim that these points can aid you in your personal study of God’s Word.

First, your Bible reading shouldn’t be a checklist item, but a blessing. When practices become part of a checklist rather than a desire, your heart will become distant from the effort. Take driving for example. I drive to work everyday and it’s simply a checklist item of my daily routine. However, I can remember the excitement I had when I first got behind the wheel. I’m guessing my face said it all, because my mom was trying to mash the brake pedal from the passenger seat. When you first begin to drive, it’s a blessing. Once it becomes part of your daily grind, it can sometimes be burdensome. I believe the same can happen with daily Bible reading. So how do we reverse that? Here are some tips to desire the Word:

1. It will benefit your life; guaranteed (Ps. 119:105) – The more of the Word you know, the more your path will be illuminated.
2. It will allow you to hear God (2 Tim. 3:16) – There have been many times where I think, “man I wish I could hear God speak right now.” Not going to lie, I still have that desire from time to time. However, He spoke to the prophets, the fathers, the apostles, and His son. His Son was perhaps the biggest megaphone He used but guess what all those significant figures did with those words? Wrote them down! For us! God decided the totality of scripture was enough that there didn’t need to be another revelation. We’ve got the answers, we just need to start digging.

Second, your Bible reading should be fascinating, not boring. This is unlike any other book (Rev. 1:19) – the Apostle John was given a command to “write the things which you have seen.” I understand that particular passage is speaking about the book of Revelation, but the principle applies to the rest of the Bible. The writers were simply writing down their experiences, and God’s Spirit was helping them to do so with accuracy and significance.

1. Layout, layout, layout (John 20:30,31) – each book has its purpose. For example, why do we need four gospels? They each serve their purpose and their aim. For example, Matthew lays his gospel out in a way that would appeal to the Jewish mind and prove to them the Jesus is Lord, and His Kingdom is coming. Perhaps before diving into a study of a book, it would be of great benefit to look at how it is laid out. This will help you maintain a grip on what section of the book you’re in. You can’t always rely on chapters and verses to make appropriate section breaks.
2. Timeline – One must keep in mind that the Bible is not in chronological order. This goes back to each book having its own purpose. Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming to try and keep up with all the names and events. A couple tools can help you keep track of this. A journal is a great friend to your bible in your daily readings. For example, when going through the Kings, you can write down “King Ahab – coward, spoiled brat, always wants his way. Married to the wicked Jezebel.” Second, I have found some benefit of looking at chronological Bibles. We in western culture love when things are in order and this can help aid that preference.
3. Find the point – That genealogy you’re reading? It serves a purpose. Often times, genealogies can help us see God’s providence. For example, take 2 Kings 11. Joash was in the warpath of his crazy grandma, Athaliah. She was making an attempt to wipe out the royal family in order for her to keep her status as queen. If Joash died in this massacre of hers, the lineage of David would’ve stopped. So what? Well, without David’s lineage, Christ couldn’t be the Messiah (2 Sam. 7; Matt. 1).

At this point, this article is 768 words long. I wish I could continue talking about why reading your Bible is more than a cliche you hear in Sunday morning class. Rather than polluting your mind with my thoughts, I want to challenge you to begin reading your Bible more adamantly and to keep track of how it influences your life. This article is partially inspired by a friend of mine who reads God’s Word every morning. They’ve explained to me there is no better way to start the day and have gone on to show me several things that I hadn’t seen before. God has blessed us with a little piece of His mind that we call the Bible. What an opportunity it is to dive deeper into it!

Tyler King