The Biggest Mistake I See in Bible Study

I consistently see this one mistake over and over again when it comes to Bible study. Let’s talk about it and learn how to study the Bible more effectively. 

I am Eva Kubasiak, and this is Bible Study Made Simple. Have you ever felt intimidated or confused by the Bible? Or maybe you have started studying the Bible before but haven’t found a way to incorporate it into your regular routine. The Bible Study Made Simple podcast is here to help you move from intimidated and confused to confident and joyful in your approach to Scripture, and help you find a routine that sticks. The goal isn’t checking off a box perfectly, but instead, our goal is an intimate connection with the God of the Bible - plus having tons of fun along the way! 

Let me be the first to admit that I have made this mistake countless times. In fact, I think this was one of the main things holding me back from reading through the entire Bible for so many years. 

Are you ready for it? The biggest mistake I see people make when studying the Bible is starting too big.

The biggest mistake I see people make when studying the Bible is starting too big. 

What this looks like is typically excitement on the first day, so you wake up early, or carve out a significant chunk of time. Then you pull out all the books. Your study Bible, maybe a commentary, you use all the pens, and you not only read your Bible, but you journal for 20 minutes and follow that rabbit trail of a question that you had while reading. This time with God was so awesome, you can’t wait to do it again tomorrow. 

So tomorrow rolls around. Then, you only have 20 minutes to read, but it is still a good time. You crack open a few extra books, spend a little time journaling, and then go about your day. 

But then day 3 comes. And you were so busy you forgot about your Bible altogether. You were lucky to breathe out a quick prayer while getting ready, and as the chaos of the day calms down, you think to yourself, it’s not worth it to open the Bible if I can’t do my whole routine from the previous days. So you skip it. 

A few more days of being crazy busy hit you in a row, and all of a sudden it's been a week and your Bible hasn’t even been cracked open. Much less all the extras you threw in those first few days. Oops. 

If you know me, you know my personality tends to be all in. If I am going to do something, I am going to do it right. This usually appears in my hobbies. It starts with me getting interested in a hobby, so I watch all the youtube videos, or listen to all the podcasts about it. Then I start ordering the tools I need to start. But not just any tools, they have to be the best tools. I look for what is going to instantly make me a pro. Then I do the thing, whatever that particular hobby may be for about 3 weeks, and 6 months later the tools are on a shelf collecting dust somewhere. 

The latest hobby that this happened with was sourdough bread baking. Friend, that is a hard hobby. I watched all the videos. TWICE. I looked up tutorials. I measured my flour on a scale. A real-life kitchen scale. I set alarms on my phone for feeding the starter. Not even kidding, I have a 3-month-old and I think she was easier in her first week of life than a sourdough bread starter. I tried it and then had to start over because I was using the wrong flour. So I got the right flour and tried it again. I accidentally forgot about it that time. Then the next time I tried it, it just never worked. I still don’t know what I did wrong.

So now the pans are sitting in my kitchen, collecting dust. And how often does that happen to our Bibles? We try a few routines or a few different times of the day, and nothing seems to stick. So it seems easier to just give up. 

But friend, studying our Bibles isn’t baking bread. It isn’t the latest hobby, and it isn’t just for fun. In fact, Deuteronomy 32:47 describes God’s Words by saying they aren’t meaningless, but they are our life. We have to prioritize our Bible reading, and figure out a way to bust out of these “all or nothing” ruts we can find ourselves in. 

How do we do that? We start small. Start with 5 minutes a day. Start leaving your Bible out where you can see it. Start by taking one small step towards God. 

• If you don’t have a reading plan, pick one out. 
• If you don’t have a time or place to read your Bible, set it up.
• If you have never been consistent with your Bible study, set a goal to hit 3 days in a row. Then bump it to 5. Then bump it to 7. And if you mess up? Start over. Give yourself grace. Keep showing back up. 

In fact, think of a small step you want to take. What will your small step be?

Now cut that small step in half, and make THAT your step. Now you might be saying, “but Eva, that’s not going to make a difference at all!” But let me tell you - it totally will. Our goal in studying the Bible isn’t to have the most books spread out. Or to have spent the most time in our Bibles each day. Our goal for Bible study is to connect with God. When you are connecting with God, you can hear His voice whispering for you to draw near. You slow down long enough to rest in His presence. You sit still so you can absorb His grace. 

One more thing that helps beat the all-or-nothing mindset is having a backup plan. Your original plan might be to wake up early and study your Bible before anyone else is awake, but on the day that you accidentally sleep in, that plan is messed up. So I like to have a backup plan in place already. Here’s how that looks in my life. 

My original plan is to wake up before my daughter and read my Bible and drink my coffee. When I do this, I usually get about 30 minutes to study and journal my prayers. However, sometimes I don’t wake up in time, or Callie wakes up early. Then my plan B is during her first nap, I set aside some time to read before I start working. This time isn’t usually as involved as my morning routine, but it is a time to connect with God. 

Then I also have a plan C. My plan C is for those days when I am busier than normal, and time keeps slipping away. On those days, while I am loading the dishwasher at night, I listen to the audio version of the reading plan I am going through. It helps draw my focus back to God, even in the midst of the crazy. 

Then the final plan is for those days when everything goes wrong and all I can squeeze in is a prayer before bed, thanking God that tomorrow is a new day. Notice that through this plan, each step is smaller than the step before it, but each step is still connecting with God. It’s not about following a set of rules or guidelines or checking a box each day, but it’s about creating routines and habits that point us back to God.

Today, as you listen to this, come up with your own small step, and maybe even your own backup plan. Your small step is stepping you closer and closer each day to the God who loves you and so desperately wants a relationship with you. So take that small step and find some way to connect with God throughout your day. 

As you take that small step today, here is a prayer for you to draw you closer to the heart of the Father. 

Father, I want to know You more. And I know that studying my Bible, the Word that You have given to Your people is how I get to do that. Help me to pick a small step to take towards You today, and bring that step to mind over the next few days as I seek to set up a sustainable Bible study routine. Draw my heart closer to Yours. Amen. 

If you don’t know what your first step is towards God through His Word, I would recommend getting into a Bible reading habit. I have a free guide just for you that you can download at evakubasiak.com/habit or just follow the link in the show notes. As you take your next steps towards God through studying the Bible, I pray that you remember our goal is connection with God over perfection in our day-to-day routine. 

Thank you for listening to episode 3 of the Bible Study Made Simple Podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast, would you share it with a friend? It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you are the only person who struggles with Bible study, but that’s not true! In fact, we can all use some encouragement for our time with God. So send some encouragement to a friend today by sharing this podcast with them. I am so grateful for you, and I am looking forward to chatting again next week on Bible Study Made Simple.

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