What if I’ve tried reading plans and failed?
Question 1127
You started January with good intentions. A Bible reading plan. This would be the year you finally read through the whole thing. February came, and you missed a few days. March, you tried to catch up but fell further behind. By April, you gave up. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Failed reading plans are one of the most common experiences among Christians. But failure doesn’t have to be the final word.
Why Reading Plans Fail
Before we talk about moving forward, let’s think about why reading plans often fail.
The plan may not fit your life. A plan designed for someone with quiet mornings may not work for a parent of young children. A plan requiring thirty minutes a day may not suit someone working long shifts. There’s no shame in recognising that a particular plan doesn’t fit your season of life.
Missing a day creates pressure. Many plans are designed so that missing one day means doubling up the next. Fall behind by a week, and catching up feels impossible. The plan that was meant to help becomes a source of guilt.
Reading becomes mechanical. When we focus on completing chapters rather than meeting God, Bible reading becomes a task to finish rather than a relationship to cultivate. We read quickly to check the box and retain nothing.
We’re unrealistic about our habits. Forming a new habit is hard. We underestimate the discipline required and overestimate our willpower. When the initial enthusiasm fades, so does the habit.
Grace for Failure
Here’s the first thing to say: your failed reading plan doesn’t make God love you less. Your standing with God is not based on your Bible reading performance. It’s based on Jesus’ finished work. If you’re in Christ, you are righteous in God’s sight regardless of how many chapters you read this year.
Bible reading is a means of grace, not a means of earning favour. We read because it nourishes us, not because it makes us acceptable. When reading plans become sources of shame rather than sources of life, something has gone wrong in our understanding of grace.
Take a breath. Confess your inconsistency if that helps. And then start fresh without self-condemnation.
A Better Approach
Choose a plan that fits your capacity. If you can’t sustain thirty minutes a day, don’t choose a plan that requires it. A five-minute plan you actually follow is better than an ambitious plan you abandon. Start small and build up.
Give yourself permission to restart anytime. You don’t have to wait for January. You don’t have to go back to catch up. Just start where you are. God is glad to meet you today regardless of what happened yesterday.
Focus on consistency, not completion. It’s better to read something every day for months than to read intensively for three weeks and quit. Small, regular meals nourish better than occasional feasts followed by famine.
Read without a plan if that helps. Some people thrive with structure; others feel suffocated by it. If plans stress you out, just open your Bible and read. The Spirit can guide you to what you need without a printed schedule.
Find accountability. Reading with a friend or group can provide encouragement and gentle pressure. When you know someone will ask what you learned, you’re more likely to read.
Pray through the struggle. If Bible reading feels like a battle, bring that to God. Ask Him to give you desire for His Word. Psalm 119:36 prays, “Incline my heart to your testimonies.” This is a prayer God loves to answer.
What if You Never Complete a Plan?
Here’s a liberating thought: you don’t have to complete a reading plan to benefit from Scripture. If you read the Bible inconsistently for decades, you will still know God better than if you never read at all. Imperfect engagement is infinitely better than no engagement.
The saints throughout history didn’t all have reading plans. Many couldn’t read at all. They heard Scripture read in church, memorised portions, meditated on what they knew. God met them. He will meet you too, even if your approach is less than optimal.
Conclusion
Failed reading plans are common. They don’t define you. Rest in grace, choose an approach that fits your life, focus on consistency rather than completion, and keep showing up. God is not a taskmaster keeping score. He is a Father who delights when His children seek Him in His Word, however imperfectly.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39