“Mark this well for a new year: your desires, good and bad, are not givens. Now, you may not, in the moment, simply be able to will yourself into some specific delight, or disgust, but you can retrain your palate over time. In fact, with each passing day, you’re either solidifying and deepening your heart in its present desires and delights, or retraining it for different ones.”
-John Piper
Dear Friend,
As we close out 2024, I would like to invite you to join me in thinking, praying, and planning for just one thing in 2025. How will you get more of God’s Word in your life this next year?
The world will plan for their health and fitness, their family and careers, their hobbies and vacations and house projects. You will be absolutely saturated on social media the next few weeks with promises to make every part of your life different and better than whatever it is you have now.
But Christians lift their eyes to something different. They don’t only plan for this world, they make spiritual investments for the future. They seek the kingdom of God in the here, AND long for the Kingdom of God to fully be restored. They know the little trinkets they have this side of things are only passing away and true treasure in Christ will last forever. This does not make them lazy, ineffective, and uncaring; rather it propels God’s people to live purposefully, faithfully, and eager.
Join me in reflecting how we can be people who love God’s Word more deeply in 2025.
Reflect
- Did I spend time in God’s Word?
- What parts of Scripture got most of my attention?
- Was it intentional or sporadic? Was Bible reading and meditation a regular habit in our home?
- How did God’s Word change and grow me last year?
Plan for Your Season
The biggest challenge to planning or goal setting a year of our lives is the simple reality that we cannot know what tomorrow holds, let alone an entire year. I have no idea what difficulties or circumstances will lie ahead of me six months down the road, or how the needs of my family might suddenly shift. While this often prevents many people from planning at all, I’d like to suggest you simply plan for the season God has placed in front of you while being aware and mindful of what He might bring your way in future months.
Begin by looking at your year and identifying any known major changes or transitions (a move, welcoming a baby, the newborn season, a job change or busier seasons at work, summer break for kids, going back to school, fall sports, etc.) Write them down! Make a list of the transition, what you anticipate may be difficult with being consistent in God’s Word, and a proposed solution.
Here’s some examples:
- Not having a regular school schedule during the summer with my kids may tempt me to be lazy and undisciplined in my Bible reading. I’ll need accountability and a structured Bible study to help me fight for self-control in these areas.
- Having a very busy spring sports schedule will tempt me to be too busy and tired to get up and read. I’ll feel overwhelmed with heavy Bible study so I’ll need a lighter study just for this season.
- I’ve always wanted to read through the Bible but fall behind and quit. I’m overwhelmed when I have to make up several days of reading. This year I’m going to pick a 5 day plan instead or start a 3 year plan that takes it slower.
- I have a difficult time staying consistent in my habit no matter what I choose. I start and stop Bible studies all the time. This year I’m going to ask one friend to choose a gospel to read through with me.
A Simple Approach
“Just Three”
The last few years I’ve chosen just three books of the Bible to study in-depth: one gospel, one New Testament book, and one Old Testament book. This year I’ll be finishing up Acts (I made it half-way through in 2024), the gospel of John, and a few of the prophets. After choosing my books to study, I sit down and think about what resources will best help me.
For some books I like to choose guided questions and a teaching resource, and for others I want to do more of the “heavy lifting” myself. I want to learn from others who know how to study the Bible well, and yet I want to build space and time in my life to continue learning how to do it myself.
What exactly does this look like?
- A guided study and teaching resource would be something like this guided study on Acts and commentary by Nancy Guthrie
- Lydia Brownback has excellent resources
- At His Feet studies would be another guided tool
- Nancy Guthrie’s Old Testament studies are excellent guided tools
- Heavy lifting would look more like using these COMA questions for each chapter, printing off the passage in several translations to highlight and make notes on, repeated readings of the book, and maybe grabbing 1 commentary to assist
- My favorite go-to commentaries are by Warren Wiersbe and God’s Word for You
- Many of my friends have used The Bible Recap to help them read through the Bible in a year (there’s also a resource for kids + a listening plan on the Dwell App)
One observation I’ve made from conversations with women working full-time jobs is to stop feeling the pressure to devote five days or more a week to heavy study. This is often unattainable and causes people to quit their Bible reading plans quickly. Instead, consider just a few days that might work best for you. Maybe you commit to getting up early one to two week days and setting aside one of your weekend mornings. The rest of the time you fill in with resources like an audio Bible on your drive to and from work or while you get ready for the morning. I’ve heard it said successful habits are best built if you can develop the mentality to, “Never miss a Monday.” Could you be more consistent by committing to Mondays and choosing just two more days during the week to invest in a deeper study of God’s Word?
Time, Place, and Person
The last few tips I’d offer are nothing revolutionary, but it seems this is where many people often struggle when it comes to habit formation.
- Choose a time you’re going to set aside and write it on your calendar like an appointment. Block it off. Add it to your daily to-do list. Let’s stop saying things like, “That’s too legalistic!” when it comes to Bible reading and yet gladly doing it for everything else we want to remember (like taking vitamins, working out, meeting a friend for coffee, or getting groceries).
- Choose a place you’re going to read and study at. Take a minute to look around the surroundings of whatever place you pick. Will you be able to focus here? What will potentially distract you?
- Choose a person you’re going to share your Bible reading plan with. Tell them what you’re going to study this month, when you plan to do it, and ask them to follow up with you. Will this person actually ask you how things are going?
I realize many people find all of this “unnecessary” in their spiritual journeys. And while you certainly don’t need to spend the amount of time I did writing this post, I’d also like to humbly suggest you probably already do this for many areas of your life that are important to you. If you want the best results in fitness, you follow a workout plan. If you want to make gains in your health, you make a meal plan. If you teach, you take the time to write some lesson plans. If you want to go on vacation, you take the time to plan where you’ll stay.
If you want to grow spiritually, you’ll need to take the time to sit down and plan for HOW that will happen. No one accidentally becomes more like Christ. It is a product of both His miracle work in our life AND our response to His faithfulness.
Come join me. How will you plan for God’s Word in 2025?
No one accidentally becomes more like Christ. It is a product of both His miracle work in our life and our response to His faithfulness.
Little Roots Co. 
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