Thirty-One Days Was Never the Point

Day 1 was Genesis 1 to 34. About an hour of reading.

Honestly, Day 1 felt like an adrenaline rush. The first stretch of Genesis was a breeze, and it was so good to watch everyone get off to a strong start.

In October, 119 of us signed up to read the whole Bible in 31 days. Genesis to Revelation. Around 38 chapters a day. Now that the month is over and I've looked at the numbers, I want to share what I learned. Some of it surprised me. Some of it humbled me.

Here's the short version: Bible in October was never really about reading fast. It was a test of perseverance, and a way to build a habit that points to something bigger.

The Numbers Tell a Story

I spent years in investment banking, so forgive me for starting with data.

• 119 people signed up in October, and 12 more have joined since.
• 71 read at least one day.
• 6 read all 31 days by the end of October. With the finish line open through November, that's now 10, and five more are within a few days of the end.
• Together, we've read 835 days of the plan so far. At roughly an hour each, that's more than 800 hours in the Word.
• 30 readers shared 213 verses on our verse wall, and those verses picked up 233 amens.

On paper, ten out of 119 looks like a poor return. In banking terms, it's a fund that lost most of its investors in the first quarter.

But look closer. 65 people read Day 1. By Day 7, it was 34. After that, the drop slowed right down. The people who made it through the first week mostly kept going.

The first week is where the battle was.

This Was Never Deep Study

Let me be honest about what this was.

Reading 38 chapters a day isn't Bible study. You don't pause on every verse. You don't look up the Hebrew. Some days you're reading Numbers on your phone between meetings, just trying to finish.

It's fair to ask: shouldn't we slow down? Shouldn't we go deep?

Here's what struck me. Deep study and a reading habit aren't competing. They do different jobs. Study is like a careful audit. A habit is like a daily deposit. You need both, but you can't audit an account you never pay into.

The psalmist describes the blessed person this way:

"but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1:2, ESV)

Day and night. That's a rhythm, not an event. October didn't turn anyone into a scholar. What it did was put the Word in front of us every single day, long enough for it to start feeling normal.

Perseverance Gets Tested in Leviticus

Genesis is gripping. Exodus has plagues and a sea parting. Then you reach Leviticus, and the reading slows to a crawl. Offerings. Skin diseases. Mildew.

That's right around where our numbers dropped.

I don't think that's a coincidence. The first week is when the novelty wears off and the real work starts. It's also when life pushes back. A late night. A busy morning. One missed day that quietly turns into three.

I'll be honest. This is where I started to crawl. Leviticus is dense. There's a lot of text, a lot of detail, and a lot of connections to hold together. Some days I struggled to get through the day's reading at all. It felt draggy.

But I knew one thing for a fact. If I let it slip by a day or two, I would never catch up. Not with my schedule and my work. So I kept going.

One of our readers put it beautifully on the stories wall:

"This month I've noticed my perseverance has truly been tested, but I'm grateful to keep showing up every day."

That line stayed with me. Not "I loved every chapter." Not "I understood everything." Just: it was hard, and I kept showing up.

That's what perseverance looks like most of the time. It isn't heroic. It's turning up again tomorrow.

Showing Up Is the Discipline

Hebrews tells us to "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1, ESV). And notice the word. Endurance, not speed. The race is long. The point is to keep running.

Someone once said it, and it's so true. Do something often enough and it becomes a habit. And a habit, kept up day after day, is discipline. Discipline is what keeps you in place. Over time, it's also what puts you ahead.

Another reader wrote that staying on track "felt tough," and leaned on a verse many of us know: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6, ESV). Reading straight through, this reader saw God's love running through the whole story, even through the rebellion and chaos of the Old Testament.

And one of our finishers listed what changed for them over the month:

• A deeper awareness of God's voice and direction.
• Perseverance.
• Freedom from needless pressure.
• Greater clarity in their thoughts.

Freedom from needless pressure. I love that one, because a challenge like this could easily become pressure. A box to tick. Something to feel guilty about. For this reader, it became the opposite.

What I take from these stories is simple. The habit didn't just get people through the Bible. It changed how they came to it.

And the lesson goes well beyond Bible reading. If you want to get better at something, show up every day and do it. A skill you're learning. Your workouts. The business you're building. The goal or vision you're chasing. Do it day after day.

There's no other shortcut.

Wherever You Are Right Now

I'm sending this to everyone who signed up, so let me speak to you directly.

If you started and stopped. You didn't fail. In finance, we talk about compounding. Small, regular deposits grow quietly over time. The amount matters less than the consistency. If you read seven days, you made seven deposits. That counts. You don't need to start over. Open the page, pick up where you left off, and read one day this week. Then another.

If you're close. A few of you are just a day or two from the finish line. Finish it. You'll get your certificate, and more than that, you'll know you saw it through.

If you just joined. Welcome. You haven't missed a thing. Start with Day 1 whenever you're ready. There's no catching up to do. Go at your own pace and tick each day off as you go. You'll get a short email each morning to help you along.

If you signed up but never started. That's okay too. Life gets busy. The door is still open, and Genesis 1 is waiting for you.

Here's what October taught me about making it easier next time:

Pace. An hour a day suits a few people. Most of us need something gentler. That's exactly what we're working on for January.

Company. Reading alone is hard. Reading together is lighter. The verse wall and the stories did more than I expected to keep people going.

Grace. Falling behind isn't the end. You can pick up where you left off, or start again with the next group.

Whichever group you're in, the next step is the same. Open the Bible in October page and read today's portion. The finish line is open until 30 November, and the page stays open after that too.

The Bigger Goal

What struck me most this month is that the goal was never the calendar. It was getting closer to God's Word, and through it, closer to Him.

Thirty-one days was just the training ground.

So here's my one ask. Whatever pace fits your life, pick one and start. Not to prove anything. Just to show up again tomorrow.

And yes, I'm preaching to myself here.

One more thing. Something new is coming in January. We're putting together brand new plans to read through the whole Bible together, built on everything October taught us. I can't wait to show you.

If you'd like to know when the January plans open, join my free weekly newsletter. I'll send the details there first.