A few days ago was the beginning of a new month and on the first of February I had the sinking thought that I was only one month into this new year and I was already horribly behind on my new year’s resolution. I don’t often make resolutions because inevitably I fail at reaching my goal. It’s sometimes easier not to set a goal at all that way I don’t have to feel that sense of failure when I miss the mark. After living through the mess that was 2020 I thought it was time for me to set a good goal for myself, a new year’s resolution that would keep me on the right track. I decided that my resolution would be to read the entire Bible in one year. It’s a big goal, but I felt confident that I could do it. There is a Bible App that has different reading plans so each day it lets you know what readings to do and helps up check them off as you go so you can watch your progress.
Diving into God’s Word and setting up a rhythm of daily devotion seemed like a wonderful way to begin 2021. Of course, as I checked in on that goal I was already more than a week behind on my readings. I’m just not sure I will be able to catch up and maintain this practice so that by the end of the year I would have read the entire Bible. At first this realization hit me like a brick and made me feel like I was failing. What made matters worse was that I was failing to read scripture, which added another layer of guilt. But then I took a beat, lifted up that grief and guilt to God and in that moment I remembered God’s grace. This goal that I had set, while noble and ambitious, was also arbitrary. What would happen if it took me more than a year to read the whole Bible? Nothing. In fact, if I stick to this goal and remove the timetable what a joy it will be to journey with God in this way no matter how long it takes. There is a delight and a challenge to reading the whole cannon of Scripture and if it take me a year, or 18 months, or several years I believe it will still be nourishment to my very soul.
Maybe you set a new year’s resolution for yourself and maybe you have felt that pang of failure if you missed the mark on your goal. I hope that if you do feel that pang you are able to pause and breath and remember that in God was have an abundance of grace. I hope you are able to see yourself, your progress, your failures, your missteps the way God sees you - as a beloved child of God who is received by God in all times with grace and love.
