Not long ago, a friend asked me about my Bible-reading and prayer habits. He was surprised to learn that I don’t read through the entire Bible every year—and that I’ve only completed that journey a few times in my life.
Years ago, I did a “Bible in 90 Days” plan, and for a couple of winters, I set aside the first two months of the year to read the entire Bible before picking up any other book. Those cold, quiet mornings with a cup of tea and God’s Word were wonderful. But I haven’t done it since.
Yes, over the years, I’ve recommended all sorts of Bible reading plans—chronological journeys or daily readings that go through the Psalms and New Testament twice. My church is walking together through the whole Bible this year, and this is a practice I appreciate and commend. We’re blessed with an abundance of riches when it comes to ways to engage with Scripture. But I have to admit, reading the entire Bible in a year isn’t my usual rhythm. For a few reasons.
Pressure to Keep Up
First, while I love taking in large portions of Scripture—something I do regularly and reflectively in my 30 Days prayer series—I’ve found that layering a “Bible in a Year” plan on top of my normal reading keeps me in helicopter mode, hovering over the landscape of Scripture, getting a good view of the grand narrative but at the expense of meditation. I don’t land often enough to walk the terrain, taking in the textures and details, lingering in slow and significant contemplation.
To be clear, the plans aren’t at fault here. And it’s not that I lack desire. It’s simply a time constraint. Reading those lengthy daily allotments slowly and meditatively would require more hours in the morning than is feasible.
Second, some plans press me into unhealthy places. My personality is the overachiever who loves to cross things off my to-do list. When I try an annual plan and inevitably fall behind at some point, I feel like the Marvel fan who missed the last couple movies or TV series—I’m out of the loop and it’s all getting away from me and I just won’t be able to catch up and I should just throw up my hands as I fail yet again. On and on it goes. Or, worse, to avoid that frustration, I’m tempted to rush through the readings, to skim the surface, just to move the bookmark when it’s my heart that needs moving. Again, that’s not a flaw in the plan. That’s just me.
Need to Linger
Third, the way some plans are arranged can make these struggles worse. I appreciate the structure of chronological reading plans that give a broad overview of the Bible’s storyline (I’m especially a fan of the one put together by George Guthrie), but I find it hard to go 40 weeks before stepping into the Gospels. I can’t go every year until October without the story of Jesus.
Some plans rectify this by including daily readings from both the Old and New Testaments, or repeating the Psalms and the New Testament. But this compounds the challenge for me, because it requires more reading every day, not less, thereby increasing the number of words I’m taking in and decreasing my attention span for careful focus.
Lastly, it needs to be said: Reading through the Bible in a year isn’t a badge of honor or a sign of spiritual maturity. For most of church history, private Bible reading wasn’t even possible. Christians heard the Scriptures in church, recited them from memory, or sang them in worship. Access to a Bible, much less the ability to read it, was a rare privilege. Even in the post-Reformation era, as Matthew Bingham’s A Heart Aflame for God points out, pastors were most likely to recommend attentive, active reading of smaller portions of Scripture, even just a chapter a day, with a spirit of thoughtful meditation oriented toward personal application.
So yes, I’m deeply thankful we have the Bible in multiple translations, with excellent study tools and plans available. The Bible’s accessibility pushes me toward more engagement, not less. But spiritual nourishment doesn’t come from the quantity of words read. It’s also the quality of time spent chewing on a passage or verse.
Grace for the Journey
So, no—I don’t read through the entire Bible every year. But I do have a plan. I want the Scriptures in front of me every day. I want a rhythm. A cadence. A habit for life. And I want to make sure I’m not only camping out in my favorite passages, returning again and again to the same few familiar hills. A reading plan, even one that doesn’t take you through the whole Bible in 12 months, isn’t less than. It’s a good way to keep you listening for God’s voice as you read his inspired Word.
I’ll continue to cheer on anyone who reads the Bible in a year. But if you’re someone who starts strong and feels discouraged by February—or if your heart longs to go deeper, not just faster—then let me remind you: God’s Word isn’t a race to be won but a feast to be savored.
Don’t just aim to finish a plan. Aim to be formed by the Word. Not just to get through the Bible, but for the Bible to get through to you.
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