Help Me Finish The Study I Started

I was the kid who couldn’t wait for the first day of school. Newly sharpened pencils and crisp, clean notebook paper made me giddy. Each subject seemed like an invitation to discover. I was eager to take notes and learn new things . . . for a few weeks. The initial excitement faded as I encountered a subject that was confusing and another that was boring. I’m a perfectionist, so the fear of not knowing the answer or (gulp!) being incorrect always lurked.

What kept me going all the way to the May finish line? It wasn’t always a deepening interest in the subject matter, although at times it was. My motivations to show up included relationships and accountability, the end goal, and the joy of variety.

Just as I was on the first day of school, I’m always excited to begin a new Bible study—thumbing through the crisp, untouched pages for the first time with my highlighters ready. I’m smiling as I think about it! But then it gets harder. A few weeks in, the Bible study book has coffee stains and the content that was so intriguing at the beginning feels harder to navigate. The initial excitement fades.

How do we keep going all the way to the finish line? My childhood motivations translate, even now, to help me persevere in Bible study.

Relationship with God

At school, I wanted to see my friends. And the boy I had a crush on. And my teacher’s smiling face. The relationships introduced accountability. I was held responsible for showing up on time. My teachers saw my homework. Friends and teachers cared about me and wondered if I was OK when I was absent. And I didn’t want to miss out on conversations with my friends.

Relationships matter in Bible study too. First and foremost is our relationship with God. I hope we’re opening our Bibles to know him better and better. If we begin Bible study to appease God by checking off a responsibility we’ve been told to do, our motivation will eventually wane. Often, we view God as the harsh master in the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14–30). We see Bible reading as an obligation rather than an invitation into a deeper relationship with him.

If we begin Bible study to appease God by checking off a responsibility we’ve been told to do, our motivation will eventually wane.

But consider Jesus’s words in John 15:15: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

And consider the often quoted blessing from Numbers 6:24–26 (NIV):

The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Time in the Word is an invitation into friendship with God. The Bible is a book about God, filled with story after story of his faithfulness to love, guide, and engage with all kinds of people. It’s the primary way God reveals himself to us. Engaging with God while you read the Scriptures is an invitation for him to turn his face toward you and for you to give your full attention to him.

Picture the last time someone’s face turned toward you and lit up with joy when they saw you—a family member driving up to the curb at the airport or a friend waving wildly to show you the seat she saved for you. Bring these images to mind when sitting down to your Bible study, turning your face toward God and anticipating time with him.

Relationship with Others

Relationships with others are also important. Jesus modeled this. He built friendships with his disciples. He didn’t only teach; he spent time walking, visiting, and eating with people. He turned his face toward them, giving them his full attention.

When you’re studying the Bible on your own, choose to make it communal. Recruit a friend to ask you about your time in the Word. Meet for coffee regularly to ask questions like “What are you discovering in your Bible study?” or “What is changing as a result of your time in the Word?” Make connections between the different Bible books you and your friend are studying. When Bible study is communal, it invites accountability. Accountability is a key to finishing strong.

Important caveat: Bible study should be different from school in that the deadlines are forgiving. One reason women don’t finish Bible study is that they fall behind. If you miss a week or two, don’t quit. The main goal of Bible study is to know God better, not to have every page completed.

End Goal

When I was in school, I wanted the satisfaction of finishing strong. I wanted to go to college and become a high school biology teacher. These end goals helped me keep going after making a mistake or after excitement dwindled.

Time in the Word is an invitation into friendship with God.

Whether the end goal of your Bible study is growing in your understanding of the Old Testament, knowing Jesus better through the Gospels, or building relationships at your church, keep that goal front of mind. It’ll help you let go of perfection and be OK with not having every page filled and every question answered—and it’ll help you keep going when you miss a week. Once Bible study has wrapped up, you’ll have the deep satisfaction of finishing.

Joy of Variety

Although I didn’t realize it at the time, looking back I can see how moving from English to math to music to the playground for recess was life-giving.

Adding variety to Bible study is energizing, similar to switching between subjects in school. Don’t be afraid to change things up. Study and discipline are important, but so are relational connections and joy. Here are a few ideas to add variety and fun:

• Incorporate what you love. Introduce art to your study. Observe paintings connected to the Scriptures you’re reading. Listen to a hymn, or play instrumental music while you read the passage out loud. If you love spreadsheets, create one for your Bible study, organizing and color-coding your questions and insights. See if your weighty question in week 2 is answered in week 8.
• Move while you study. Listen to the passage as you hike or garden.
• Change the location. I love my fluffy chair by the sunny window in my house. My favorite pens and highlighters are close at hand, and so is my coffee. But sometimes I’ll go to the park or enjoy the patio at my favorite restaurant while I study.

You should highly value your Bible study, but it doesn’t have to always be hard. Have fun incorporating variety as you study God’s Word. Keep the end goal in mind—are you growing in your understanding of who God is and how he engages with the people he made? Great! Keep going.