Read

After a little over three years, I can say that I've done it. I have now read the entire Bible. This wasn't a goal I originally planned to meet. It wasn't some bucket list item, and I didn't use a "read the Bible in a year" program (obviously, since it's been more than three years). It started with a fear, and anxiousness, that nothing seemed to be helping. When I was about 15 or 16, I had nearly constant sleepless nights and anxious feelings. There was never any apparent cause, and nothing I did seemed to calm me down. One night, when I was just too anxious to sleep and upset for seemingly no reason at all, I picked up my Bible and read Psalm 1. "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked." It was such a short chapter, and I continued to read the next few chapters of Psalms. I calmed down some and was able to sleep. The next night, I did the same thing, reading just one chapter. And again the next night. And again. I read through Psalms. Then Proverbs. Then Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. For some reason I jumped to Matthew, and read the gospels. Then Paul's letters. And then I decided to finish reading the New Testament. And then it became a goal- at least one chapter a night until I had read every word God had given to me. Over the course of this reading, my anxiety disappeared. Of course I still get upset. Of course I still worry. But that constant fear, the long sleepless nights? They gradually left. As I approached the end, I wondered for a second, what will I do when there's nothing left to read? The answer is obvious. Stay in the Word. Start over. So starting tomorrow, I'm doing it again. At least a chapter a night. I can't just stop. Now that I've started, it's impossible for me to stop reading the Word. I hope I never do.