Week 26, June 23–29: 1 Chronicles 28–2 Chronicles 18; Psalms 85–89

• Sun 6/23: 1 Chron 28–29           
• Mon 6/24: 2 Chron 1–4, Psalm 85
• Tue 6/25: 2 Chron 5–6, Psalm 86
• Wed 6/26: 2 Chron 7–9, Psalm 87
• Thu 6/27: 2 Chron 10–12, Psalm 88
• Fri 6/28: 2 Chron 13–15, Psalm 89
• Sat 6/29: 2 Chron 16–18           

This week marks about the halfway point in our read thru. By this point hopefully you are finding it to be a life-giving habit to be making time to be in the Bible each day, or most days at least. Be encouraged that the time you’ve invested in this has been time very well spent. God’s word is powerful, and it will accomplish what God intends for it to accomplish (Isa. 55:10–11). Scripture bears all kinds of good fruit in our lives, and the way to see this fruit produced begins by simply reading it. That’s what you’ve been doing. So well done!

As a reminder and encouragement for the second half of the year, here are a couple of the main purposes for doing a read through like this. First, we do this to meet with God regularly and hear what he has to say. God has given us the Bible so that we can know him. As Jesus says in John 15, we bear the true fruit of Christ followers when we abide in him and his word abides in us. The Spirit of the living God who lives in us is the Spirit who inspired the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21), and setting aside a few minutes each day is a way to respond to his invitation to hear his voice and be nourished by his word (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3).

Maybe you’ve been able to be pretty consistent over the first half of this year, or maybe your times of reading have been somewhat sporadic, or maybe you’re just now jumping into the reading schedule. Either way, for all of us it can be difficult to make the time to read. It can feel like there’s not enough time for it, that other matters are more urgent, or maybe that our time would be better spent on more practical things. In the midst of the busy lives we live, it can be a real challenge to slow down and read this ancient book, a book that can be difficult to understand and whose relevance is sometimes hard to see. But we can be fully confident that it is worth the effort and prioritize time in God’s word. He has been so kind to make himself known to us by giving us his word, and we do very well to receive that gift daily.

The second purpose we’ve considered for doing a read thru is to cultivate a lifelong habit of growing in familiarity with God’s word. Not only is it the most valuable use of our time each time we meet with God and hear from him through his word, but doing this also has a cumulative effect over time. The Bible is both elegantly simple in its basic message and infinitely complex in its beautiful depiction of God and of life in the world he made. The gospel can be understood the first time we hear it or read it, and we can devote our entire lives to mining its depths and still just begin to grasp all there is to the deep mysteries of God.

We are gradually building a foundation of knowing God by reading through the Bible this year, and hopefully this continues next year and beyond too. This is a patient process that takes time and may not produce obvious, concrete “results” right away. Nevertheless, over time our minds and hearts are being shaped, and our character is being formed into Christlikeness as his Spirit carries out his work in us through the regular habit of reading his word. Not only will this be richly rewarding, but it is also pleasing to our gracious God who has revealed himself to us.

Early on in the year I suggested starting your time each day with God in his word with a brief prayer, asking him to open your eyes to see what he has said in the words you’re about to read. This week we read David’s wonderful prayer in Psalm 86, where he praises God for who he is and asks the Lord to instruct him in his ways. May this be our prayer too.

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,

     nor are there any works like yours.

All the nations you have made shall come

     and worship before you, O Lord,

     and shall glorify your name.

For you are great and do wondrous things;

     you alone are God.

Teach me your way, O LORD,

     that I may walk in your truth;

     unite my heart to fear your name.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

     and I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your steadfast love toward me;

     you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. (Ps. 86:8–13)