How to Start a Bible Reading Habit

I got my first house plant in November. I have always loved my mom’s Christmas cactus, so I bought one for my kitchen, and I very quickly fell in love with checking it every day for blooms and new growth. In the last 6 months, I have added 34 more plants to my house.

I did not go to the store and buy 35 plants, but I would pick one up here and there, and slowly adding to my collection.

Whenever we want to start a new habit, why do we always try to jump head first into that habit? If I had added 35 plants to my life overnight, and had to get used to all of their watering schedules at the same time, I would probably have 35 dead plants. Instead, by adding one or two at a time, I have been able to add them to my routine without killing anything.

If you want to get in the habit of daily Bible reading, don’t start off trying to accomplish the whole thing in 2 months. Simply read a section at a time. If you have never read the Bible before, start with a couple verses in a book. The next day read the next couple verses (I do think it is important to read whole sections of Scripture, so picking up where you left off the day before and continuing is better than starting somewhere else and reading a few verses there. You wouldn’t pick up a regular book and read 2 paragraphs in chapter 7, then go back and read 4 paragraphs in chapter 2). After a few days you will have read a chapter, and then a little while more and you will have read a whole book.

Big change comes from small steps.