Don't Get Discouraged If You Don't Feel It

I want to make clear at the outset that this was a process. For example, I didn't just wake up one day and decide I really wanted to read my Bible every day, and then happily take to the habit. At first the changes were very small and slow, and it was all I could do to get myself to keep the ambition of reading some of the Bible almost every day. I would miss days and then try to catch up, and sometimes it felt like an obligation that I wasn't excited about taking time for. But I knew that the way I had been doing things before had left me disappointed and unhappy. I knew that my previous pattern of life had failed. So I was trusting God that there was something better for me if I devoted myself to reading the book He gave us.

I would say that for the first several months Bible reading often felt like doing homework. You learn interesting things, and sometimes you have a pleasant time, but often it feels like a chore to get out of the way. So if anyone has tried this or is trying it and has found it to be difficult to stick with, I can empathize. I've been there, but I also can testify that sticking with it caused something wonderful to happen for me that was well worth it. The Bible is full of promises that God will give wisdom, hope, and encouragement to those who read and listen to His Word. The more I read, the more I placed my trust in Him that something would happen in me if I kept at this habit. And I gradually found that I really wanted to read my Bible - in fact, I began to realize that I was generally happier and less overwhelmed during the day if I had made time to read my Bible that day. As I stuck with it, I could see the difference between days I read the Bible and days I didn't. My spiritual mindset was beginning to change.