Obstacle: I Tried and Got Completely Lost
Many have tried to study the Bible and got completely lost – here are three practical strategies to change that.
Listen to the conversation above, then read on.
Another common reason people give for not studying the Bible is that they tried and got completely lost. If that thought has ever crossed your mind, you are in good company — and this post is for you. Below you will find three practical strategies that address this obstacle directly and give you a concrete place to start.
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Obstacle: I Tried and Got Completely Lost
The Issue
You came to the Bible with genuine enthusiasm. You bought resources, downloaded apps, started reading — and then hit a wall. Scholars disagree with each other, the language feels foreign, and the more you searched for answers the more questions appeared. Eventually the effort stopped feeling worth it.
The problem was not your intelligence or your faith. The problem was method. Most people try to read the Bible the way they read other books — start at the beginning and work through it, or search online whenever something is confusing. Neither of those approaches works well. The Bible rewards a specific kind of careful, methodical engagement that most of us were never taught.
3 Strategies to Overcome This Obstacle
- Learn to observe before you interpret.The most common mistake in Bible reading is jumping to ‘what does this mean?’ before spending enough time on ‘what does this say?’ Before you consult any commentary, read the passage slowly three times and write down everything you notice — repeated words, questions the text raises, things that surprise you. Observation is a skill, and it changes everything.
- Start with one Gospel.Rather than trying to read the whole Bible, start with the Gospel of John. Read one chapter at a time, slowly. John wrote for ordinary people, not theologians. Ask three questions of every passage: What do I see? What does it mean? How does it apply? That simple three-step rhythm is the foundation of effective Bible study.
- Find one good guide, not many.Too many resources create noise, not clarity. Choose one trusted study Bible — the ESV Study Bible or the NIV Study Bible are both excellent — and use only that for 90 days. Let one reliable voice help you build a foundation before you introduce competing perspectives.
Source: Adapted from Hendricks, Howard G., and William D. Hendricks. Living by the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible. Moody Publishers, 2007.