Faith Friday, Episode 43: The More I Read, the More I See...

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to Faith Friday, Episode 43.

This year, for the very first time, I decided that I was going to read through the entire Bible.

Now, I've read parts of the Bible before. I've read Genesis several times, and of course I've read the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But I had never actually read through the whole Bible from beginning to end.

So this year, I started using a reading plan called The Bible Recap. Every day, I read the assigned chapters, and then I listen to a short recap that helps me understand what I just read.

It's also paired with The Bible Project, so at the beginning of each book, you get an overview that helps you understand what the book is about before you get into it.

That has been really helpful for me.

I also have a couple of friends who are doing it with me, which has really helped me stick with it.

Today, I completed Day 219, and I believe I've read about 24 books of the Bible so far.

It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect

Now, does that mean I've done it perfectly every single day?

Absolutely not.

I usually do my devotions first thing in the morning, but sometimes I wake up late, life gets going, and I forget.

I think the longest I've gotten behind was about five days.

But then I just sit back down, pick it back up, and catch back up.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

You just keep showing up.

And I think that's one of the things that has made this experience so meaningful for me.

Because the more I keep coming back to Scripture, the more I'm starting to see something that I don't think I understood in the same way before.

I'm seeing God's heart.

Seeing God's Heart Throughout Scripture

Some of the books are definitely harder than others.

Leviticus, for example, was a lot—with all of those laws, all of those sacrifices, and everything the Israelites had to do.

But even that gave me a completely different appreciation for what Jesus did when He died on the cross for us.

God gave Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

Then, when I read through Isaiah—and now as I'm reading through Jeremiah—I keep seeing the same theme over and over again.

God's people kept turning away from Him.

They were worshiping idols.

They were choosing other things instead of Him.

They weren't listening to Him.

And you can really see how much that hurt His heart.

But what stands out to me is that, even in the middle of all of that, He still wanted a relationship with them.

God's Heart in Jeremiah and Isaiah

In Jeremiah 3:19, God says:

"I would love to treat you as my own children. I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land, the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me Father, and I wanted you never to turn from me."

And that really struck me.

Because even after everything they had done, His heart was still,

"I want you to call me Father."

And when I was reading Isaiah, there was another verse that really stood out to me.

In Isaiah 57:18, God says that He has seen what they do, but He will heal them anyway.

He will lead them.

He will comfort them.

And again, that doesn't mean that what they were doing didn't matter.

It did.

God wanted them to turn away from the idols and come back to Him.

But that's the part that gets me.

He still wanted them back.

In spite of the choices they had made...

In spite of how far they had wandered...

And in spite of how much they had hurt Him...

God still desired a relationship with them.

He still wanted to heal them, lead them, comfort them, and bring them back to Himself.

God's Heart in the New Testament

Then you see that same heart again in the New Testament.

I remember doing a Bible study where someone described Ephesians as God's love letter, and I remember thinking how true that really is.

In Ephesians 2:4–5, it says:

"But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God's grace that you have been saved."

The more I read Scripture, the more I understand.

God's love is not based on us getting everything right all the time...

Because we won't.

It's not based on us being perfect.

It's part of who He is.

A Personal Reflection

And that has really made me think about some of the beliefs that I carried about myself for decades because of things people said to me or things people spoke over me.

Because the more I learn about God's heart, the more I realize that those voices don't get to define who I am.

Their opinions don't have the final say.

God does.

And I'm not saying that those old beliefs just disappear overnight, because they don't.

But the more I read God's Word, and the more I understand who He is, the more I can start questioning those old beliefs and asking myself,

"Is that actually true?"

"Is that what God says about me?"

And if it's not...

Then I don't have to keep carrying it.

Reflection Question

So today, whether you're a person of faith or you're still exploring what you believe, I think it's worth thinking about where your understanding of your worth comes from.

And if you're a person of faith, here's the question I want to leave you with:

What might change in the way you see yourself if you really believed how deeply God truly loves you?

Closing

Thank you for spending a little bit of your day with me.

Until next time, I will see you for System Saturday.

Until then, I hope today's episode helped you create a little more clarity, feel a little more calm, and have a little more confidence. 💜💚