Why I Read The Bible Every Year

...and why you should too!

In 2016, I went on a journey, a journey to read the entire Bible through in a year. I fought and fought to do it, yes I love God, yes I love his word, but I found myself set in my ways. I was a New Testament type of gal...I was a deep devotional/study type of gal...so in my mind I was okay. And while I studied certain books time after time, I never could say I had read through the entire Bible. Crazy right?

So on January 1st, 2016 I set out on a venture to spend the next 365 days reading the Bible. I journey through from Genesis to Revelation, with a daily passage from Psalm (thanks to the YouVersion app). I found myself reading stories I never knew existed in the Bible, I found myself getting answers to questions I had always wondered about, but most of all I found myself drawing closer to Christ.

If I can be honest, reading the Bible is tough, it's not always easy to understand, it presents a lot of questions and the stories at times may not make sense. But the truth is when we read those stories, and we venture to go deeper we begin to lean not unto our understanding, but the understanding of God. There are so many things that reading through the Bible can teach, but it is in vain if you are not getting closer to the Lord in the process.

Each day I read the Bible, I wanted to learn more, I wanted to understand more, and I found the best way to do that is simple, read the Bible. Yes, there are books out there, there are commentaries and sermons, but the best way to draw closer to God and to understand his word is to seek him. 

​James 4:8a says: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you...". When we seek Gods face through prayer and reading his word, he will reveal himself to us. Reading the Bible in 2016, showed me that, and it can do the same for you. If you want to be closer to someone, you spend time with them; God is the same way.

I believe that we can get closer to God. It does matter how long you've known God; we always need more! So today, I want to encourage you to read through the entire Bible. I want to invite you to draw closer to God this year. We spend time drawing close to things and people on this earth, let us in 2019 draw closer to the one who matters, the one who leads, guides and makes our paths straight!

Have you read the entire Bible? Do you make it a practice annually? What has reading the Bible taught you? Let's chat below!!

-Tamika