January 1st, 2021 has come and gone. And I want to be completely honest - I did not make any resolutions.
For the past few years, I’ve been the one who buys the Cultivate What Matters Journal, setting intentional goals, listing the 15 things I want to focus on. I was so focused on finding my word for the year and figuring out all I would get done within the coming year.
For 2021, my approach has been completely different.
First of all, the holidays were hard. The first one without my dad was more challenging than I thought it would be. So I just rested. I didn’t work. I was simply present in the moments with my family.
So I didn’t do much of anything in terms of vision planning and praying for specific things. I was just simply asking for wisdom, direction, and grace. I was praying to simply dream again.
And you want to know what I felt God speak to me?
Before you go about making resolutions, first resolve to read the Word. Every. Day.
A resolution, for me, is much different than resolving to do something. A resolution in my mind looks like a checklist. It looks like charts and pretty ways to hold myself accountable for a week. But to resolve to do something? That word brings this image to mind of a soldier who has their eyes set on something, determined to go after it.
So instead of resolutions. I am resolving to do a few things this year. And one of those is to be in the Word every single day.
Now, I know how this can be challenging for some people.
My day job is as a pastor, so I talk to a lot of people who don’t even know where to begin, who have trouble incorporating it into their schedule, and those who are just overwhelmed by it!
Before I get into the five helpful tips to opening your bible, I want to talk about the why for a bit.
So why is it important to read your word?
The Bible is life giving, it is essential, it is absolutely necessary for our sustenance and our lives. Scripture is how we come to know God, it’s how we come to know the person of Jesus. Scripture shows us the heart of God and it shows us who we are in light of Him.
I was listening to a podcast recently (which you can find here), and they were discussing the importance of being in the Word. The speaker was talking about how we have to correlate reading the Word to water or food. If we’re bad with our hydration one day, we don’t give up drinking water for the rest of our lives. If we “mess up” with eating well it’s not like we can’t just start again the next time we eat. And so that is the same way we approach Scripture.
Don’t give up just because you fell off your bible reading plan on day 5. Don’t stop reading just because you feel like it’s stagnant and you haven’t seen growth. Scripture reading begets scripture reading.
And here’s the thing - it isn’t formulaic. There’s no one size fits all approach to reading the Word. You just have to do it.
Life is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. And you develop your muscles for a marathon over time. So take that same approach with getting into the word. You just simply have to start.
So, here are five tips to staying in the Word:
Give yourself grace.
The reality is there might be days where you forget to do your Bible reading plan. There might be days you don’t have a lightbulb moment. And that’s okay. Give yourself grace, forgive yourself, and then get back to it.
Know yourself.
Are you a morning person? An evening person? Do you like to read on your phone? Or do you prefer a physical Bible? Do you like to listen to the Bible?
Figure out what works for you, and do it. This is where you’re growing your relationship with Jesus. And every relationship is different. So your quiet time isn’t going to look like every other person on Instagram.
Also, you have to be realistic. If you aren’t a morning person, then don’t set your alarm for 5am to spend time in the Word. Read your Bible before you go to sleep at night.
I’m not a morning person, but I love starting my day off in the Word. So I’ll set my alarm an hour earlier and spend time with Jesus then. One of my good friends finds that she connects with Jesus more when she reads the Bible at night. The key here is that we know ourselves.
Right now, I’ve been listening through the Bible. This has been a different approach to me, but I read along, and different themes have jumped out to me. Don’t be afraid to change it up.
Learn to prioritize your time.
This is where I’m gonna get a little confrontational. Look at your phone and see how much time you spend scrolling on social media. People will often say they don’t have time when in reality, they do.
Instead of watching another episode on Netflix? Read your Word.
Instead of scrolling aimlessly on Instagram or TikTok? Open your Bible.
It has to be a priority for you.
Find a community.
A great way to stay accountable is to read along with people. And I volunteer as tribute! I’m so down to be your accountability partner in this. Send an email, send a DM on Instagram - let me know what you’re reading and I’ll check in!
You could also set up a reading plan with friends. Read the same book together and start a group chat, letting each other know what you’re getting from it.
Like Nike says, just do it.
It’s as simple as just starting. I recently heard it said that seven minutes every day for a month is better than 2 hours for 3 days. Just start. You won’t regret it.
Let me know in the comments below what book of the Bible you’re planning on starting with! And keep your eyes open for more resources in the weeks to come! :)
