I read the entire Bible in 1 year

I remember being a kid and hearing about people reading through the entire Bible in a year. It sounded crazy and impossible-- after all, the Bible is huge and there are so many confusing names and stories.

I never felt nudged to tackle that, until this year. In 2025, I read through the entire Bible.

To say it changed my life and faith would be both cliche and completely true. I knew there would be many passages that I never read or heard before and would be confusing (i.e. trying to keep track of all the kinds who reigned over what territory... spoiler, I still get them mixed up), so I knew I had to give myself grace.

My goal for reading through the Bible wasn't anything more than just read every word of Scripture to spend time with God and let Him speak to and show me whatever He desired. I had to consistently remind myself when I read something from Leviticus three times and still didn't know what it meant that God wasn't frustrated with me.

He was happy to spend time with me and gave me grace so I could give it also to myself. My honest, immediate reaction: I loved it.

There's something really powerful about reading the Holy Scriptures in simple, raw, form-- straight off the page. Every morning I looked forward to reading God's Word. No really, I genuinely looked forward to it.

It's one of those feelings I still don't know how to put into words; perhaps because that's the power of God, "it's alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12).

Routine

If you also love disciple, it's a wonderful morning habit, and if you struggle with discipline, this could be a sweet place to start. Everyone has their own routines that work for them and their lives.

Right now, I've been blessed with the gift of time. Every morning I get to wake up before the sun, in a quiet house, to make a cup of coffee, light a candle, play soft music, and read the Bible in cozy pajamas and a blanket.

I've found there's something special about reading the Lord's Word when it's early, dark and quiet.

It really does feel like I'm spending time with Jesus, not just reading an ancient text. The reading plan I chose was 'The One Year Bible' and everyday it gives you scripture from the Old and New Testament, a part of a Psalm, and verses from Proverbs.

January 1 started with Genesis 1, Matthew 1, Psalm 1:1-6 and Proverbs 1:1-6, and when I started back in January, I was also watching 'The Chosen' and the number of times that what I read in the morning was shown in the episode I watched later in the evening was not a coincidence.

Nor was the number of times what I read in the Old Testament coincided with what I read in the New Testament.

What I learned

Of course I learned so much about God, Jesus, the early church and the first Christians, not to mention how reading God's Word drastically changed my heart, my perspectives and my desires. But if I had to choose the biggest thing I learned, it would be that God is sovereign.

When I leaf through my notes, the phrase that comes up again and again is "God is sovereign." It sounds simple, obvious, and most believers know this to be true, but it's quite different to say it and to believe it. In other words, to live like you know it's true.

I realized in a new way that I never understood before the way I do now that all of the ancient kinds and rulers reigned and were torn down by the will and command of God. It was powerful to see people like Joseph, David, Hannah, Mary, Elizabeth, Saul and Peter, to name only a few, receive gifts and promises that seemed so unlikely, impossible, or too late. And realizing that everything points to the sovereignty of God.

He rules over time, and every detail of every person's life. Nothing happens outside His will and nothing exists without a purpose. I'm not sure why so many people are convinced that in order to believe they need to understand the ways of God in the moment, when it's been proven that faith does not come from understanding.

Sure, God gave us brains for curiosity and to think critically, but I don't think it was to doubt or ask "how?" Faith radically trusts the One who, quite literally, holds all things together. My word I prayed about for 2025 was "surrender" and reading about God's sovereignty all year helped me helped me loosen my grip and let go of many personal things that I was humbly reminded are God's, and that He is sovereign over them all.

After 360 days, I learned to truly hold things with open hands.

Faith in action

In 2025, besides reading through the Bible, I did other things that reading Scripture nudged me to do as well. I don't want to come across like an influencer who tells people there's one way to do something (especially when that something is your personal relationship with Jesus), this is all just my added experience to 2025 that has changed my life.

I almost completely cut out secular music, I practiced fasting, I cut out foul language, and started to stop watching YouTubers who didn't live with God as the center of their life. I wanted to, and am continuing to, cleanse my mind of things that took away room from God being at the center of my heart, mind and life.

If the content encouraged any worldly thought or desire, I chose (am choosing) to cut it out. To me, it was important to purge my mind to make more room for God to speak, convict, and teach.

We all have different sensitivity levels, and mine, ever since I was a little girl, always felt higher than everyone else's. I used to feel embarrassed when people would call me a prude, or innocent (in a derogatory way), and it wasn't until this year that I learned to not care what people say about what I choose to not watch or look away from.

It's not about coming across as "holier than anyone else," if I could, I would look away without anyone noticing, it's about protecting my heart and mind for the peace that I think we all long for. Leaving social media (in 2024), significantly cutting back on consuming digital content in 2025, and being disciplined to prioritize consuming godly books and podcasts has dramatically changed my life.

Lastly, I devoted more of my time than ever before to serving in church. I learned it's not about making friends or coming across as a "good Christian," it's about serving God with what He has given you as a thank you for all He has done.

I've never been more sure that the purpose of my life is to serve God and God alone. I surrendered my life to Him and His will, choosing to only seek Him, because my life belongs to Him. And to me, a life spent serving and living for the God who made and saved. me, is indeed a successful life. And I'm excited to continue living for and being refined by Him in 2026.

Thanks for reading this year :)