Why am I unable to finish reading the Bible?

Why is it so hard to read the Bible?

Are those who finish reading the Bible a special kind of people?

By the end of this post, I hope these and other questions you might have will be answered.

I’m writing this post in early January 2025, and I just started my 18th round of reading the Bible cover to cover.

Am I a special genre of a person? Of course not! This has not always been the case. I didn’t start there.

Several years ago, reading the Bible cover to cover seemed like an illusion, a dream, a mirage.

I kept starting, getting to the middle, mark-timing, feeling like stopping, angry at myself… that was the story of my life. The best I ever did at the time was finish the New Testament.

What changed that I could finish reading the Bible, and have continued to do so year after year?

Rather than bore you with all the details, I have written about what I did differently in this post, “Read through the Bible in 2025.”
Being able to identify the hindrances to reading the Bible will help you guard against them and trust God for victory as you look forward to successfully completing a Bible round.

What might be the reason why you’ve not finished reading the Bible?

Before I get there, I must say that reading the Bible, just like any other spiritual engagement, faces warfare.

We have an enemy, the devil, who does not want us to know the teaching of Jesus, to hold on to it, to be his disciples, and to experience freedom in Christ. (Jn. 8:31-32)

Resist him and he will flee from you. (Jas.4:7)

Let’s now discuss the 7 reasons why you might have been unable to read the Bible and finish.

1. Setting Unrealistic Goals

Each new year, many of us make resolutions towards a desired future.

We make goals that we hope we can achieve to get to where we would like to be.

For Christians, part of these goals might be spiritual goals like finishing the Bible in one year.

When it comes to reading through the Bible, we can set unrealistic goals that might be too hard to achieve.

For example, setting a goal to read five chapters of the Bible every day may seem an exciting goal. But is it practical? Will you keep at it consistently until you finish reading the Bible?

I have friends who read five chapters a day. They cultivated the discipline over time which is why they are able to do this.

I would suggest setting a goal that allows you to keep building the discipline to read the Bible every day. A chapter a day is a wonderful place to start.

Our 16-year-old is in her 4th Bible-reading round.

She started slowly, mostly reading a chapter or two every day. It took her a few years to finish reading the Bible for the first time. By the time she began her third round, she would read 3 to 4 chapters daily. She completed reading the Bible in a year.

Starting small and then building on this will help you acquire the discipline to read through the Bible and finish.

This though works best in a certain context which leads us to the next point of why you can’t finish reading through the Bible.

2. Lack of an Accountability Structure

Being accountable is about having the humility to make yourself answerable to God and others for your growth.

It is about letting God use others to help you align to his will with regard to your growth in the faith.

Even the “great” apostle Paul knew this secret. Here is a case in point:

God had revealed to him the gospel message was for the Gentiles too. He however subjected himself to the scrutiny of the leaders at Jerusalem, “for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.” (Gal.2:2b)

Thankfully, they gave him the right hand of fellowship.

Accountability is Biblical. Being accountable means acknowledging that without others walking with you on the journey, you will struggle to make it, even give up.

My husband and I have kept each other accountable to complete our goal of reading through the Bible each year.

Our accountability circle has widened to our fellow ministry coworkers with whom we keep each other accountable. Once a week, we meet virtually now that we don’t live near each other. We share where we are in our Bible reading and what we are learning from God’s Word.

We now each finish reading the Bible yearly, to the glory of God.

We have young people we walk with who have completed a Bible round because of the example we set before them and also because we inquire about how they are doing as they journey with God in the Word and prayer.

Do you have a friend or two with whom you can keep each other accountable on your Bible reading journey?

Are they, like you, having a deep desire to know God through His Word?

I suggest you form an accountability group to spur one another onto love and good deeds.

Agree on the number of chapters you’ll read each day.

Meet weekly to share where you are in your Bible reading and an outstanding insight that week as you read God’s Word. As a group, share some of the struggles you’re encountering. Discuss how you can overcome them.

Don’t forget to earnestly pray for each other both when you meet and when away.

You can make this a 30-minute meeting to an hour at most so it doesn’t get overwhelming to meet weekly. Don’t make the meetings long unless you’ve agreed to. You will be surprised at the progress you will make reading through the Bible and growing.

3. Getting to a Bible Book That’s Difficult to Understand

This is perhaps the challenge that most New Year resolution setters encounter the most.

You start the year at Genesis. You make wonderful progress until you get to Leviticus for example.

You get lost in the details of sacrifices and laws. You give up. Off you go, hoping to try again the next year.

What can you do to get past this obstacle to reading God’s Word?

I found it helpful to listen to Bible expositions of some of the Bible books that are difficult to understand.

The late David Pawson did an outstanding work of expositing Bible books. I benefitted a lot from his Walk through the Old and New Testaments series.

You can find them on YouTube for free.

I learned, for instance, that reading Leviticus and Hebrews together can help you understand Leviticus better.

Keep in mind also that God reveals his will progressively. Something you didn’t fully understand as you read the Bible now will become clearer in a future Bible reading round.

Even after reading the Bible 28 times, my husband recently shared with me an insight from the story of Lot that he’d never seen in all those rounds.

If something isn’t clear this round, keep reading. God is at work through your obedience, whether you know it or not. You’re getting transformed by the renewing of your mind as you read God’s Word.

As we observed earlier, remaining accountable to others will also help you on your Bible-reading journey.

4. Not Making the Intake of God’s Word a Priority

Most Christians know the value of God’s Word.

We know the Sunday school rhyme:

Read your Bible,
Pray every day
if you want to grow.

How many of us take the extra step to prioritize the reading of God’s Word?

When you set aside time to pray, do you set aside time to read God’s Word?

Do you actually read God’s Word at the time you have allocated to read?

Do you read the Bible because you have some free time during the day, it’s Sunday, or because good Christians read along during the service?

I had to face these questions as I reflected on God’s Word and whether its intake is key in my life.

I wake up early each day. Before I do anything else, my first main activity is to hold hands with my husband and pray. The next activity is to read God’s Word and have my prayer time.

My husband has this principle about his Bible reading: No Bible No Breakfast.

This has become part of our household practice. We all come to breakfast after our Quiet Time which includes spending time with God in his Word.

If you want to finish reading through the Bible, set aside time for it.

Pick and set the best time you know you’ll keep the discipline consistently unless there’s an emergency.

I find early mornings rarely interfered with. I have even written this blog post here about why I’m convinced waking up early is Biblical.

Choosing a consistent time to read God’s Word will help you keep the discipline of reading God’s Word.

As human beings, we thrive best by following some form of routine that helps us achieve what we’ve set out to do, or else, we will do what we like to do rather than what we need to do.

More often than not, what we need to do is what brings change and transformation rather than what we like to do.

5. Losing Interest, Boredom, Disillusionment, and Discouragement

Part of my introductory remarks in this post was a reminder that the decision to read God’s Word will face spiritual warfare.

Part of this warfare will come in the form of discouragement, loss of interest, and discouragement.

You’ll find yourself wondering whether this is worth it. You’ll find yourself wanting to give up because you’ve not been as consistent as you thought you’d be.

You’ll quickly fall for the lie that you can try again next year.

One of the reasons for me to keep reading God’s Word is these verses among others:

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim.3:16-17)

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Josh.1:8)

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb.4:12)

I’m convinced that God is working in my life. I might not have an outstanding insight from God’s Word that day. God is still at work, transforming me through the power of his Word.

The thought of giving up on reading the Bible is from the enemy of our souls.

6. Seeking Instant Results

Spiritual rewards or benefits are rarely experienced instantly.

Once in a while, God grants us instant miracles and answers to our prayers. Most of the time though, answers, benefits, and rewards take time.

They take time because God is not only interested in the rewards. He is much more interested in the process that takes us to the rewards.

He is working on our patience for example. He is dealing with pride. He wants us to learn contentment even when we don’t have what we want.

I just read the story of Abraham and Sarah. The blessing of a baby born from their loins seemed impossible. God had to remind them: Is anything too hard for the LORD? (Gen.18:14)

The blessing took a long time. Sarah eventually devised a plan to build a family line through Hagar. It didn’t turn out well but God still worked through it for good.

I keep sharing the story of a mentor who once shared how she’d wonder why she wasn’t as wise as some godly women she knew. She was younger then. She continued in God’s Word, making Ps.19:7b her prayer.

When I met her, she was and still is one of the wisest women I have ever met. This is a demonstration of God’s powerful Word at work.

As you get into the discipline of consistently reading God’s Word, don’t look for quick results. Faithfully walk with God in His Word and prayer. You will see the results, benefits, and rewards follow.

7. False Teachers and Teaching

Growing up, I encountered this fallacy that I should not attempt to read the whole Bible and finish because I would go mad.

Now, where did that come from? I would answer, from the pit of hell.

How can one go mad obeying God’s Word to meditate on it day and night? And how do we meditate on it unless we read it?

This is an example of a false belief from false teaching about God’s Word.

I know Christians who cannot read the Word of God because the “man of God” is the only one who can interpret it correctly. Instead, they delve into books, sermons, and teachings by these so-called men of God.

This false teaching has made us elevate fellow men to the extent that we believe they are the only ones with direct access to the heavenly Father.

We haven’t read Scriptures such as:

“No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jer.31:34) and,

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb.4:6)

We depend on others to “receive” from the Lord and then to “give” us the “message from the Lord.”

While God has gifted some to be apostles, evangelists, prophets, and pastors and teachers, it is his will that we read His Word ourselves.

He will use them to clarify the truth and give us more insight into what we are reading. However, this should never replace our own intake of God’s Word.

Many false teachers don’t want you to read the Word for yourself. They control you by causing you to interact with God’s Word from their lenses. Once they can achieve this, you’ll do what they say without raising questions because what they say is (supposed to be) God’s will.

Get in the Word for yourself. You will know the teaching of Jesus; hold on to it; and it will set you free!

Ready to start reading God’s Word consistently today? Read this post next to know what to do. I alluded to it earlier. Whether it is January, June, or December; whatever time of year it is, just start reading through your Bible. You won’t regret it.

7 Reasons Why You Can’t Finish Reading the Bible (and How to Overcome Them)