On October 1, 2017, I will have achieved my goal of reading the entire Bible in one year. Overall I would say the experience was both challenging and rewarding. I highly recommend the “Seasons of Reflection” book which combines Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs passages for each day.

I am glad that I accepted the challenge to read the whole Bible in one year. Every day of study may not have been as deep as I would have liked, but I am grateful to have been exposed to the entirety of God’s word.

The biggest challenge of reading the entire Bible in a year is the amount you have to read each day. On mornings when I would wake up late or put off my reading until later in the day, I would tend to skim through the passage without retaining any content. The temptation to skim is a constant difficulty in my busy life. I tell God that I want to put Him first, yet find myself pushing His word off to the side. I talk the talk, but have a hard time walking the walk.

Another difficulty of reading the Bible is engaging with the Old Testament. These passages are heavily steeped in the cultural practices and difficulties of Biblical times. Without taking the time to research and study, these passages easily become meaningless. These long passages, which describe everything from battles to buildings, can be very dry.

However, this is where pairing Old Testament and New Testament readings becomes beneficial. I once heard the Old Testament described as a tiny acorn and the New Testament as the tree from which it grows. Through my year of reading, I could see connections between the two sections of Scripture. Through generations, time and space, God continues to work all things for his good.

In Bible study, I tend to do a lot of close reading by studying specific pieces of the text. This practice in distant reading provided me with a new perspective on the Bible and faith. During this year, I began to recognize God’s elaborate and amazing plan to draw all people closer to Him. In my mind, I tend to make God small and put him into a little box. This experience expanded my view of God, into a being that I am continually challenged to pursue.