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How’s the lockdown treating you? Are you happily Zooming into work in pyjama bottoms, or desperately missing physical contact? Are you swamped with things to do or going to bed early because you’re bored? Are you sleeping in, or are you sleepless with anxiety?
The Bible is God’s gift to you, now, whatever your situation. If you long for encouragement and hope. If you need help to cling to God amid all the uncertainty. If you want fuel for your prayers or guidance for the future. Or even if you just need to do something that doesn’t involve screens. Reading the Bible, whether on its own or with the help of a good Christian book, is like sitting at the feet of Jesus, our kind Saviour and wise Teacher. It is the way to thrive.
But how do we actually do this? Here are twelve simple ideas.
Missing your commute? Try getting up at the same time you always used to and using the time you would have spent travelling to read and pray. Enjoy some reflection time that will get you ready for the day—without having to deal with beeping traffic!
What routines does your family need? Try a half-hour nap after lunch: everyone retreats to their rooms and stays quiet for thirty minutes. You can do whatever you want in that time—but it’d be a great opportunity to read a chapter of a Christian book.
If you’ve been finding it pretty hard to think of anything to talk about recently (other than our friend Covid), why not start a book club? Get together—virtually of course—with a couple of friends, pick a Christian book that interests you all, and schedule a time to chat about it. Try a chapter a week and see how it goes. Conversations = revitalized.
Or you could even ask a non-Christian friend if they’d like to read a gospel together with you and see what they think of Jesus. They may be more likely to say yes now than at any other time. You could use a booklet such as Becky Pippert’s Uncovering the Life of Jesus to help you.
What good habits do you wish you had? When all the normal routines are destroyed, it is a good time to get into new rhythms. For example, maybe you’ve felt daunted by the idea of doing devotions with your kids, when time was so squeezed—but now that it isn’t, why not set aside a slot each day to tell a Bible story or chat through a family devotional together?
Are you one of those people who buys books more quickly than you can read them? Now is your moment! Dust off those books you’ve been saving for a rainy day. Who knows what treasures past you might have acquired?
What’s one book of the Bible you’ve never read? (Zephaniah, right?) Maybe now’s the time. Popular-level commentaries like the God’s Word For You series will help you open up unfamiliar books in manageable portions. Then you can show off by quoting Philemon or Micah on every video call.
If you want to read a Christian book but you’re not sure where to start, just ask your friends. Actually, this is a good idea even if you already read Christian books regularly. You can broaden your reading experience, learn new insights, and hear from different voices.
Ever wish you had a prayer chair? Now that you’re spending all your time on your bed (I see you), it might help to designate a special space for prayer and Bible reading. Make a den with cushions and fairy lights, arrange some Bible-inspired art on the wall, or just choose a comfy armchair to curl up in for a daily quiet time.
You might be hoping or planning for big changes in your life once the lockdown is over. How could you prepare yourself well for a new job, a new baby, or a new relationship? What do you want to learn about or give yourself a biblical perspective on? See if you can find a good Christian book on that topic!
Similarly, this could be a good time to explore some of those big questions people ask, so you can be more ready to explain your faith. Why does God allow suffering? How reliable are the Gospels? There are plenty of resources out there to help you get your head around these questions.
Sunday is still Sunday, even if under lockdown all the days seem to merge into one. Now’s the time to get creative about how to keep one day a week special to the Lord. One way is to read Christian books. This is a good day to read a chapter and chew over it, then come to God in prayer. Then don’t feel guilty about not doing this on other days.
“I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.” (Psalm 119 v 45)
Most of us aren’t physically walking about in freedom right now. But if we seek out God’s word and look to him every day, we are giving ourselves the chance to live in true freedom. His word guides us, revives us, and reminds us who we are: the precious possession of the risen Christ, who has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. With him this lockdown can become a time for reflecting, learning, trusting, growing, delighting—and becoming truly free.
Happy reading!
Katy Morgan is a Senior Editor at The Good Book Company and the award-winning author of The Songs of a Warrior and The Promise and the Light. She loves helping children and young people grow in knowledge and love of Jesus, and volunteers in the youth work at her church, King’s Church Chessington in Surrey, UK. She holds a master's degree in classical Greek literature from Cambridge University.
