3 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Bible-Reading Plan

A few days before the end of the year, I realized I’d read nearly all of the New Testament in The Passion Translation. (I mark up every page I touch, so I can tell by flipping through my Bible if I missed any books.) Of course, I challenged myself to finish, which entailed reading James and most of Hebrews in two days.

I’ve loved reading slowly this year, with no plan but to finish one book at a time. It erased the pressure, the to-do’s, the expectations. Encouraged me to come as I am. Sit. Soak. Savor. I stopped and read most of the footnotes. Sometimes I lingered for days on just one segment of a chapter.

This faster pace felt different, but not rushed. I still read the footnotes, still stopped to note the verses I wanted to circle back to (which is approximately half of them!). At the same time, reading a larger chunk in one sitting gave me a different understanding of how it fits into the story arc.

The thread running through all of Scripture—the redemptive, never-ceasing pursuit by God of human hearts—surfaces when we take a step back from the details of one small sliver and examine the whole of the story. I needed that, just as I also crave the nuggets small enough to memorize, pray, and ponder.

Too often, I think in terms of what’s better. Reading the Bible in one year or reading one verse a day. Following a Bible reading plan or simply reading one book of the Bible at a time. Reading early in the morning or when I’m fully awake. Turning on worship music while I read or listening through the silence.

Maybe you feel this struggle too.

You want to grow your faith. Be real with God. And also be realistic about your time.

You’ve followed Bible reading plans, and the guilt that swiftly follows the days you’ve missed left a bad taste in your mouth. You’ve also read, and re-read verses, realizing they’re not sinking in. And you wonder if it’s just you. Can God’s Word speak in a language I understand?

All the talk around here of letting the things God is doing inside you ripple out beyond you feels daunting because you’ve been stuck yourself.

Can we talk about it? How we can get the most out of our Bible reading plan—whatever that plan is—so fruit can grow and ripple?

How to get the most out of your Bible-reading time

1. Define your goal.

Whether you’re reading through the Bible in a year, or just getting in the Word each day, name your plan, but also realize that the ultimate goal is not a how but a Who.

Reading your Bible is not a task to accomplish. A box to check. A gesture of self-approval.

what reading your Bible is NOT quote by Twyla Franz

The Bible study method or reading plan you follow is far less important than why you’re drawing close, posturing yourself to listen, growing a deeper love of the Word Himself.

Let your why lead you to your true Bible-reading goal.

2. Try a different translation.

I grew up reading the New King James because that’s the Bible that appeared under our Christmas tree that year I resolutely knew I was going to get a Bible for Christmas and my parents didn’t know someone besides them had gotten the same message. This trustworthy though more modernized version became dear to me (though I admittedly also read Shakespeare and Chaucer) and I memorized many verses as a child in the NKJV as well as in my mom’s favorite, the New International Version (or NIV).

I’ve owned a couple of other NKJV Bibles since then—a teen study Bible that fell apart despite my DIY mixed art, duct tape cover, and one gifted by a group of friends concerned that I’d start losing pages. More recently I’ve tried other translations: the New Living Translation, the Message, and my new favorite, The Passion Translation. Trying different translations has kept me coming back to look for nuggets and uncovered layers I’ve missed.

If you’re struggling to understand the language in the Bible, may I gently recommend that you try another translation? Some translations feel stuffy or use a whole lot of words you don’t understand. Others may have become so familiar you find yourself glossing over the verses. Regardless of your reason, trying a different translation can breathe life into your Bible reading.

3. Talk about your questions.

Somewhere along the way, it’s become taboo to admit what we’re still figuring out. We think the perfect Christian doesn’t struggle, question, or doubt. It’s not only an unattainable standard, it pushes us to build walls. Self-protect. Retreat.

Missional neighboring invites us to go a different direction—toward God, and toward people. It gives us permission to drop the pretending and show up with our questions and imperfections. When we open up and share honestly how God’s still at work in our lives, our questions can pave a path for others to find Him.

When we open up and share honestly how God’s still at work in our lives, our questions can pave a path for others to find Him_Twyla Franz quote

As you read your Bible, note the questions that trip you up. Commit to seeking God’s heart even when you don’t yet understand. You’re practicing being real with God—and your trust and honesty are precious to Him.

The next step is to invite others into your conversations with God. Though it feels vulnerable, it’s immensely freeing to talk about the questions that rise as we read the Bible. We don’t have to know all the answers, we just have to trust the One whose ways are higher than ours:

My thoughts about mercy are not like your thoughts, and my ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so my ways and my thoughts are higher than yours.
Isaiah 55:8-9 TPT

Trust is contagious. When we choose to trust God in spite of our questions and doubt, we gently lead others closer to God.

Truth is . . .

No matter who you are, how many failed Bible reading plans you’ve racked up, or which translation you pick up, your time in the Word can be fruitful and life-changing.

May this be the year that you come near and often because you want to, not because you feel you should.

May you seek and find the One you’re looking for.

And finally, may God “express through you all that is excellent and pleasing to him through your life-union with Jesus the Anointed One who is to receive all the glory forever! Amen!” (Hebrews 13:21 TPT).

Just a friend over here in your corner,

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