Bible Reading Challenge!

Wow, time flies, and I’ve been gone for just a bit! Part of that has been due to school, work, and other engagements, but part of it has been due to lack of ideas. So... if you have something you’d like to see me write about, please leave it in the comment’s section, and I’ll definitely consider it. 

But for now, let’s start the actual post. This is different from what I usually write about, but it has definitely blessed me—thus the reason I wanted to share. So let’s discuss the “Psalms of Ascent Challenge”. 

DISCLAIMER: I’d like to make it very clear that this was not my idea. Who came up with it? I’m not sure. But it’s good!!

Alright, so what exactly is this challenge? Well, that’s very simple. It’s a 14 day challenge (but you can stretch it out as needed) in which you read the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). Each day, you read one Psalm and answer three simple questions using the text.

1. Who is God?
2. What does He do?
3. What does this imply about me?

And that’s it! Really simple, right? 

I started this challenge because I saw something about it on Instagram and was interested in trying it out. That being said, let’s have a moment of truth: I haven’t been spending much time in the Word recently. It’s very discouraging, and I can’t pinpoint just one reason why, but that is the main reason I started this challenge. My faith was wavering a lot, and I was neglecting God. When I started this 14-day journey, I did it for accountability’s sake, but then it turned into so much more. By reading and then writing down answers to these questions, I became more involved in what I was reading, and by being able to actually see the answers, it caused me to focus more—as opposed to letting those answers float around in my brain with a variety of distractions.

The design of this challenge forces you to look into the Scriptures and (occasionally) dig for answers. It requires focus, determination, and a desire to learn more about God and draw closer to Him. For me, it required that I sit down, think, and really ponder what I was reading—not just skim over the Bible to check it off my to-do list—and that was a huge blessing. Another wondrous thing about this challenge is you can take it to any other passage of scripture. The Psalms of Ascent are a good place to start, but after that, you can—and I plan to—go through a variety of books in the Bible, answering these questions for every chapter.

As you can see, this challenge is simple in form, but it opens up so many doors for exploration and learning. Maybe it’s not the right Bible-reading plan for you, and that’s okay! But for those of you who are interested, give it a try. It’s only 14 days, and it focuses on some very encouraging Psalms. Who knows? Maybe it’ll bless you the way it blessed (and continues to bless) me! I pray it does.

Feel free to share this with a friend!

If you have a Bible-reading plan that works for you, mention it in the comment's section!