We are all busy. We have a ton going on, and even when we don’t, we want to spend that time relaxing, scrolling through our phones, or sitting back and watching Netflix. This temptation is in all of us. Sometimes, we just don’t feel like reading the Bible. However, we need the Bible to guide our lives and hear from God. The important thing to remember is that you’re definitely not alone in this. Let’s look at a couple of solutions.
What do you do when you don’t want to read your bible?
Be Thoughtful About Your Reading
Sometimes, we just flip open to a page and start reading there. While that can be great, you miss out on the context of what the passage is saying. This means that you miss who the important people are and the basis of the message. This can also cause you to be confused as to what the actual meaning of the passage is. One strategy is to pick a book and just start reading. However, if you feel yourself becoming disengaged, you can read a different book, and just go back to the other one later. God just wants you to be engaged with His word.
Read a Different Translation
There are a ton of options of translations to choose from. What this means is that, while they are all saying the same thing, they are worded in different ways. There’s the NIV version, which is fairly common. Then the NLT version is a bit more paraphrased, and then The Message version is even more paraphrased than that. If you have any questions about versions and which may be right for you, be sure to ask your pastor or someone in your church who would know more about different versions. Different versions of the Bible open our eyes to ways of seeing passages that may not have been evident before.
If you have a smartphone, there are also multiple ways that you can access the Bible as an audiobook. Listening to the Bible is great for people who are very busy or drive a lot, and it still lets you focus on the word and the message.
Most importantly, if you’re feeling discouraged about reading the Bible, don’t walk away from it. We need the word of God to guide our lives and give us the strength to get through the troubles of everyday life.
- What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- How regularly do you read your Bible? Would you say this is better than last year, worse, or about the same?
- What do you find gets in the way of you reading the Bible?
- Which of the reading strategies discussed above appeal the most to you?
- What translation have you read the most? Would you consider trying a different one?
- What do you think are the benefits of listening to the Bible as opposed to reading it?
- Do you have reading strategies of your own? Share them with someone.
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
