It’s official, I have read the Bible, cover to cover, in less than 22 months.
I’ve been a Catholic all my life. I went to Catholic grade school and have attended Sunday mass all my life except for a stint while I was away at school (no excuse). With a Catholic education and all the readings in mass, surely I’d read all of it in my 40+ years, but never cover to cover, sequentially, from page 1 to page 1,394 (per my NAB version). Every last word.
When I started, I made a point to not count Sunday readings, my Bible studies or daily devotionals (since it wasn’t part of my sequential reading). For example, I read James over and over for a Bible study but told myself, when I get to James, I will read it again. As I listened to sermons and looked up the scripture reference, I would not only read the verse, but the chapter, maybe a few pages as part of my daily devotional, but again, told myself, this doesn’t count toward my Bible-in-two-years reading plan. If anything, it only enhanced the experience.
I have “supplemented” my reading with mass, Bible studies, team meetings and retreats, online sermons, Jesus Calling and other Christian books & movies. I have been like a sponge. There is not one emotion I’ve felt that is not represented in this book. I have re-connected. I’ve been re-united. I’ve re-ignited in my faith. I am renewed in Christ.
Throughout our grieving, Wyatt and I have said we could not have survived without our faith. Why? Because of HOPE. I dove into scripture looking for answers and I have found them. When trials and hardships come your way, you have a choice; lean into God, find the purpose in your pain or rely on worldly things. Like empty calories, worldly things quickly lead to starvation mode again and again. I chose to lean into God and in doing so, I have put my full trust in Him, no matter the circumstance.
There is no amount of money, no vacation, no amount of shopping, re-decorating, eating, drinking, no promotion, not even a relationship here on earth that can fill you up the way the Bible can. It speaks truth about our past, it is an instructional manual for our present and it defines our future.
My prayer for you today is you can find a quiet spot and read (or listen); any page, any chapter, any verse. Pause after a bit and digest what you’ve read. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you in that silence. God’s word is abounding in comfort, insight and encouragement! When someone finds a successful nutrition plan, a toothpaste that whitens whiter or an app that saves time, we share it because “it works, it really works!” When you love someone, you want them to receive the same benefits you’ve experienced. I want everyone I know to have the knowledge I have which has come from the Bible. Teach me wisdom and knowledge, for in your commands, I trust. Before I was afflicted I went astray but now I hold to your promise. Psalm 119: 66-67