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You are ready to dig into Scripture and start growing your relationship with God, but it feels like the world is against you.
When you have a spare minute, you simply want to rest. Do nothing or something more interesting, right?
We all fight this Bible-reading battle, but that doesn’t mean we are bad Christians.
Unfortunately, I have wrestled with my own heart over this. It is a struggle to read the Bible and enjoy it.
If you are reading this blog post, you are on the right path to becoming a better Christ-follower.
God is proud of you for taking the time to learn how to fall in love with His Word and read it more consistently. To read the Bible is the best thing you could ever do for yourself!
The question is… Are you willing to act on what you are about to learn?
Before we talk about how to fall in love and read God’s Word more often, we need to answer a couple questions that will help the process go smoother.
Should We Read Our Bibles Daily?
There is a mindset that says we aren’t pursuing God enough if we don’t read His Word daily.
It’s discouring when we try to reach this high expectation and fail a thousand times. Eventually, we give up trying. Why struggle to climb a mountain that is too steep?
Raise a hand if you have ever felt this way. *sheepishly raises hand*
So what do we do about this? How do we pursue God “enough” when we keep failing to read His Word daily?
Are we bound to never reach God?
Yes, because we were never meant to reach Him. That is why He came down to us as a man.
There is a gap between heaven and earth that we cannot fill. Only God can fill the gap.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6 (NKJV)
The tug on your heart that is encouraging you to read the Bible more is not God asking you to reach Him, it’s God asking you to meet with Him.
While reading the Bible every day is a God-honoring thing to do, we need to recognize that a relationship with God is not built on merely reading the Bible.
Everybody knows that a runner must run, but he also needs to do other things to excel in running. He needs to choose his meals wisely, regularly stretch, and have a good sleeping routine.
The same goes for our relationship with God. We need to pay attention to the media we consume, sing praises (internally or externally), and glorify God in everything we do.
We don’t have to read the Bible every day to have a consistent relationship with God. Sometimes we need to focus on another aspect of our relationship with Him.
I am not saying we should skip reading the Bible, but I am saying that it isn’t wrong to start small. We can’t build a castle in one day!
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)
How to Read the Bible Consistently
According to dictionary.com, consistency is a steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc.
Consistency simply means doing something in an unwavering manner. To commit to sticking with something until the end of a period of time.
In our case, this period of time is today until death.
Every good and thirsty Christian craves this kind of consistency in their devotional time. Once again, this desire comes from God tugging on our hearts.
To accomplish this, we need to recognize our calling to delight in God’s Word.
The secret to delighting in God’s Word is recognizing how important it is to our souls.
Read more: What’s the Big Deal About Reading the Bible?
Once we start delighting in God’s Word, we will slowly become motivated to read it consistently.
Consistency can differ through the different seasons of life, so the way we read it will also change.
Some seasons of life will include hours of studying, while others will consist of one verse per day.
We will always fail at reading the Bible until we recognize that both reading styles glorify God the same amount.
Both are a symbol of our desire to glorify God through every season of life.
What Does Consistent Bible Reading Look Like?
I believe most of us view Bible reading with a lens of perfection. We imagine consistent reading to look something like this:
The early sunshine peeks through the blinds as we settle down into a cozy spot and start digging into the awe-inspiring words.
It doesn’t matter how busy we are. We always find time to read the Bible at the same time every day.
Not to brag, but we rarely miss a morning in the Word. We even read the same amount of verses/chapters every time.
However, most of the time, that’s not how reading the Bible goes. It is actually far from that stereotype.
I earn side money from babysitting during the early hours of the day, so I have a hard time meeting God in His Word first thing in the morning. I have to make breakfast for a wired 4-year-old first.
Sometimes reading the Bible in peace and quiet isn’t an option.
I read it in between the breaths of a 9-year-old boy explaining Minecraft to me.
Or when the kids flock around a television, playing on the Xbox and watching YouTube.
Some days, I rest my head on a pillow with heavy eyes and shoot a prayer toward Heaven. I thank God for the day He gifted me and ask for forgiveness.
As I ponder the day, I realize where I could have read the Bible but didn’t. So I use that knowledge to change the course of my next day.
Fall in Love With Reading the Bible: 10 Tips to Keep You Motivated & Passionate
Now it’s time for the fun part…
You are now ready to learn how to take steps toward falling in love with the Bible, reading it often—despite the busyness of life.
How we read and view the Bible is often why we struggle to stay motivated, so let’s address that issue first.
1) Pray For More Passion
Let’s face it, a love for the Bible doesn’t come naturally.
If you are struggling to find the motivation to read the Bible, ask God to give you a desire for His Word—a bigger passion.
Take a moment out of each day to pray about your lack of affection.
Remember, God isn’t evil. If we lack something, He wants us to ask Him to help us (James 1:5-6).
This is the step you should take before attempting anything else.
2) Read One Verse at a Time
I know it’s hard, but a big part of growing a desire for the Bible involves actually reading it.
But we do not have to read a full chapter or multiple verses at a time.
We can read one verse a day. Then we can meditate on it for a minute, thinking about how we can apply it to our life.
The best place for this strategy is the book of Proverbs.
As you read, you will find yourself wanting to read more and more verses to see how they fit together. That’s when you know that you are falling in love!
3) Leave Your Bible Out in the Open
Maybe you struggle with the act of picking up your Bible, though. Or perhaps you forget to read it until you’re already in bed.
Unfortunately, when our Bibles are in their proper places, it is easy to forget to read them or say we don’t have enough time. Does the idiom “out of sight, out of mind” ring a bell?
This is where leaving the Bible out in the open comes in handy.
When our Bibles are staring us in the face, nagging at us until we pick them up… We must intentionally decline growth.
Ouch. That stings.
4) Throw That Stupid Phone Away!
Not really.
Phones are important. They help us communicate and keep in touch with our loved ones. However, they can also have the opposite effect.
When it’s time to read your Bible, turn off your phone or put it on do not disturb. Whatever you do, keep it away from you as you’re trying to dig into Scripture.
Believe it or not, your phone is remarkably patient. It can handle a few unread notifications.
5) Put Your Bible in the Bathroom
I read a lot of resources as I researched this blog post. Not one of them mentioned putting the Bible in the bathroom.
I’m just saying… We all use the throne of the house, so why isn’t anybody talking about bathroom reading?
I know it’s weird, but it is not about where we read the Bible. It is about how we read the Bible.
My dad (sorry, father) used to read the Bible in the bathroom. Otherwise, he might not have read it at all.
Now that we have that conversation out of the way, let’s continue. (You gotta love me. 😉 )
6) Remove Expectations & Embrace Real Life
The bottom line of the previous point is to simply remove expectations you have placed on reading the Bible.
As humans, we have created a mindset that Bible time is supposed to be quiet and perfect. Hence the name quiet time.
But quietness and perfection are not always an option when it comes to reading the Bible. Sometimes we must dig into the scriptures when the world around us is loud and busy.
While it is important to read the Bible in peace and quiet, God also wants our attention during the busy hours of our days.
Release those perfectionism expectations and you will discover more time to read your Bible.
7) Incorporate a Good Journal
This may seem like typical advice, but it is for a good reason. Journals can help inspire us to read more!
It isn’t for everybody, so do not feel bad if you find yourself dreading the idea of taking notes as you read the Bible. However, give it a fair chance before crossing it off the list.
If you are looking for a suggestion, I highly recommend Moonster. To me, there is something extra inspiring about genuine leather.
My boyfriend bought me the one in the above picture a while back, and I plan to buy myself another when the pages run out. It’s amazing!
8) Sleep With Your Bible
As I said, part of our desire to avoid the Bible is because we have not developed a love for the words within it.
If you start to feel your motivation dwindle again, rest the Bible on your chest as you try to fall asleep for the night.
Sleeping with a Bible is a physical representation of how the weight of its words brings peace.
9) Buy Yourself a Bible Study
Another tool to help you along in your journey is a Bible study.
There is no shame in needing a little direction as you read.
The Bible is hard to understand at times. Even the best theologians struggle to understand certain areas.
If you need help understanding the Bible or certain topics, find a study that you can go through.
A good place to look is The Daily Grace Co. Although they target women with their company, they have Bible studies for everybody.
YouVersion is another great resource for digging into a variety of topics.
But be diligent in choosing a Bible study or anything of the sort. Even from the above places I mentioned.
Unfortunately, the world is broken. That leaves the Bible as the only infallible resource.
10) Follow a Year-Long Reading Plan
Lastly, sometimes we simply need the motivation of a goal.
While we should never brag about how much of the Bible we have read, there is something special about being able to say we have read the entire Bible. Especially if we read it in one year.
Personally, I have not read through a year-long plan, but after a little bit of research, I found some exciting ones.
I cannot promise that they are perfect (as mentioned, I haven’t used them), so make sure to investigate them for yourself.
A lot of Bibles also contain year-long reading plans at the back of them. While it will look different for every book, here’s an example from a couple of my Bibles.
No, I’m not a hoarder. I simply appreciate having multiple translations of the Bible.
Conclusion
Failing to read our Bibles is a hard thing to swallow, but we all do it. This doesn’t make us bad Christians; it makes us humans who are in need of God’s grace.
We feel bad about not reading the Bible because we are called to read it. God is urging our hearts to delight in His Word.
While reading the Bible every day is a God-honoring thing to do, we need to recognize that a consistent relationship with God is not built on merely reading the Bible.
Sometimes we need to focus on another aspect of our relationship with Him.
I am not saying we should skip reading the Bible, but I am saying that it isn’t wrong to start small. We can’t build a castle in one day!
The secret is praying for a heart that delights in God’s Word. It’s easy to simply read the words, but we need to learn how to indulge them as well.
Eventually, we will find ourselves wanting to read more and more to see how the Scriptures fit together. That’s when we know we’re falling in love!
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Sunshine in the Haze 
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