Fueled By the Word

Anyone who knows me is likely well aware of my love of structure. Even though I try to throw spontaneous adventures into my routine, I’m a much more content and happy camper when I can make and follow a plan. Give me a Table of Contents, an Itinerary, or a To-Do List, and I will happily occupy myself for hours, prioritizing, scheduling, organizing… You get the idea.

Disclaimer: That whole “organized, planner” mindset is essentially only that – a mindset. My mom will assure you that it rarely carries over into the maintenance of my room. Or my car. Or my storage bins currently cluttering up her garage.

In any case, I like a plan on paper. So you can probably assess my level of excitement when just before the New Year, I was issued a reading challenge, complete with daily guide to help keep me on track! The challenge?

Read the entire New Testament in 90 Days!

Lifeway Research recently released study findings that only 19% of Protestant churchgoers personally read their Bible everyday. PONCE Foundation research adds that out of over 2 billion Christians worldwide, only about 30% will read the entire Bible over the course of a lifetime.

Missionary? Yes. Super saint? Nope! Statistics like these hit me hard. It’s like Paul says in Romans 7:15. “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” (New Living Translation) Don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe that if I fail to read my Bible daily that God will love me any less or that it will keep me out of Heaven. A commitment like this, for any Christian, is more about demonstrating our love for Him. Our most basic and direct links to God are through prayer and reading His Word. So wouldn’t it make sense that we should be actively pursuing both activities on, at least, a daily basis?

Challenge accepted! In true New Year’s Resolution fashion, I started off fired up – I even gave myself a “head start” and began the reading schedule on Dec. 28 instead of waiting until the issued start date of Jan. 1. All too soon, though, my zeal tapered off. Travel, birthdays, life-in-general, and most notably, laziness were prioritized over my daily readings, and before I knew what had happened, I found myself almost an entire book behind where my once beloved schedule said I should have been!

Bible reading wasn’t the only commitment I’d been slacking in. Since being home from The World Race, I’ve longed to drop several extra pounds earned from excess rice, milk tea, Chapati, etc., and carry only fond memories instead. Despite good intentions, I’ve made lackluster efforts. I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t have the greatest attention span. Hitting the treadmill is the proven best way for me to workout, but I all-too-often quit early, not because my legs give out or my lungs won’t last, but because I am sincerely bored with the task.

I’m not entirely sure when or where the thought of combining the two activities struck me, but just over a week ago, I decided to try reading while walking. Admittedly it took a little getting used to, but once I got into a rhythm I found that reading my Bible while I walked made the time pass considerably quicker. The longer I walked, the deeper into the Gospels I went, and soon after that I realized that I was making mental notes about things to check into or things to pray about. And I even began feeling like the Lord was using the verses I read to highlight aspects of my own life and relationship with Him.

As the week progressed, I tried mixing up my walk/run/read routine, pushing myself physically to go farther, faster, but recognizing the higher priority of reading and understanding. True story – the one day that I attempted to run/walk without my Bible in front of me, my body literally began to shut down after 1.5 miles, when every other day I’d been averaging close to 4 miles, no problem! If that’s not “a God thing,” I’m not sure what is.

As of today, I’m back on track with the reading schedule, and while I watch the muscles in my body begin to tone and strengthen, I realize that God is paralleling this with the growth of my Spiritual muscles! He is truly fueling me with His Word.

How are you challenging yourself to pour more into your relationship with God this year?

(Click here for your own personal reading guide.)