My husband Robert and I have started a Bible-in-a-year plan more times than we’d like to admit, and finished fewer times than that. A lot of those starts were New Year’s resolutions.
If that’s been your story too, you’re in good company. It usually has very little to do with how much you love God or how disciplined you are, and a lot to do with how the resolution was set up.
Why Bible Resolutions Fade
Most resolutions run on a burst of motivation, and motivation is wonderful for about three weeks. Then life comes back. The kids get sick, work gets busy, and you miss a few days. Then you’re four days behind, and catching up feels like a mountain. Quitting quietly feels easier than admitting you’re behind.
On top of that, the Bible’s early pages are a lot to take in. If you’re reading straight through, you hit the detailed law sections in Leviticus right around the time your motivation dips. It’s a hard combination.
None of that is a spiritual failure. It’s a planning problem, and planning problems have practical fixes.
Make It a Habit, Not a Goal
“Read the Bible in 2027” is a goal. Goals are great for direction, but you can’t do a goal on a Tuesday morning. You can only do a habit.
So turn the resolution into something small and specific:
- When: “After I pour my first cup of coffee.”
- Where: “At the kitchen table, with my Bible already sitting there.”
- What: “Today’s three or four chapters on my checklist.”
Write those three lines on a sticky note and put it on the coffee maker. Reading attaches far more easily to something you already do every day than to a fresh block of willpower.
Plan for Missed Days Before They Happen
This is the single most helpful thing we’ve learned. Decide now, before you start, what you’ll do when you fall behind. Because you will.
Pick one day a week as your catch-up day. Saturday morning works well for a lot of people. When a weekday gets away from you, you don’t have to decide anything or feel anything. You just leave the box blank and fill it in on Saturday.
And if a whole week gets away from you? Pick up at today’s reading and keep going. You can come back to the missed days later, or not. A year of reading with some gaps is so much better than a perfect January followed by nothing. We wrote honestly about this in I quit Bible-in-a-year twice.
Choose a Plan That Fits How You Read
If you’ve stalled before, it might be the plan, not you. A plan that mixes a little Old Testament and a little New every day keeps you in the Gospels through the hardest Old Testament stretches, so they never feel endless. If you love the big story told in order, read straight through and go slowly in Leviticus. If you like staying in one book for a while, try alternating whole weeks between the testaments.
We explain all three in our guide to picking a Bible reading plan for 2027.
Make It Visible
A printed checklist sits in your Bible where you can’t swipe it away, and by March it’s a record of every morning you showed up.
We’ll send you a free checklist for each of our three plans, with every day of the year and a box to tick.
Get the free printable reading plan →
Don’t Do It Alone
Tell someone. A spouse, a friend, a small group, a text thread with your sister. You don’t need a formal accountability partner. You just need someone who might ask, “Where are you in the reading?” Our son Clayton has read alongside us, and knowing someone might ask is a gentle, real kind of accountability.
If you can, read the same plan together. It’s fun to text each other about the strange parts of Judges.
Give Yourself Grace
Some days you’ll read and feel nothing in particular. Some days a verse will stop you cold. Both count.
If February comes and you’re behind, that’s not the end of your resolution. It’s just February. Open to today’s box and start again.
Send me the free printable plan →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I keep my New Year’s resolution to read the Bible?
Tie your reading to something you already do every day, pick a plan that fits how you read, and decide on a weekly catch-up day before you need one. A printed checklist helps you see your progress.
How long does it take to read the Bible each day?
About 15 to 20 minutes, or three to four chapters, to finish in one year.
What if I’ve already fallen behind?
Start again at today’s reading. You can catch up on a slower day or simply keep going. Falling behind doesn’t erase what you’ve already read.
Is it okay to start a Bible reading plan after January 1st?
Yes. Our plans are numbered by day, so you can start any day of the year.