A common New Year's resolution among many Christians going into the new year is to (hopefully) read The Bible more; this could range anywhere from starting a daily devotional plan to aiming to read The Bible in its entirety by the end of the year.

But I would make the case that every college student right now (especially if you are not someone who follows and/or has a relationship with God) should make the goal to read The Bible in 2018. Not just read an occasional passage, or read maybe a book or two: every college student should read the entire Bible in 2018.

The amount you can (and will) learn from daily engaging with God’s Word will blow your mind, especially if you have never done that before! It will teach you about who God (our Creator) is, what He is like, what it means to “have a relationship” with Him, and so much more!

To anyone who is Christian or curious or both, and may feel tempted to at least try out this New Year’s resolution of reading through The Bible in one year, here is a short list of steps I have prepared to help you test the waters of this enriching journey:

First, pray to God. This may seem odd to suggest to students who don’t even believe in God, so I suggest getting a journal or something to take notes with, find a quiet space, and write down what you want to learn about God through reading His Word (The Bible). Then, still in that quiet space, try to think about what He wants you to learn about Him on this new journey! (And write that down, too!)

After you have an idea of what you (and God) want to learn about Him, find a Bible-reading plan that works best for you. Now, there are many Read-the-Bible-in-a-year plans out there: some great, some not so great. Personally, I just recently began reading the Bible by using the Read Scripture App from The Bible Project; you can find it in the app store, and it essentially walks you through reading the entire Bible from the first page to the last, presenting the entire Book as one unified story. Along the way, it will give videos which provide context and insight to what you are reading, guiding you through each daily reading.

A third but certainly helpful step: seek out someone who can help you in your reading. Find a local church or ministry, engage with someone who knows more about The Bible than you in a face-to-face, human way. Maybe there’s even a college ministry on campus that could serve this very purpose! If you feel stuck or overwhelmed with the idea of diving into reading God’s Word, having someone older and wiser guiding you is a tremendous help. In fact, a very wise, spiritual man named Solomon wrote about this very fact, in the Book of Proverbs (a collection of wise teachings that relay what God’s Wisdom looks like in a cause-and-effect way). Solomon, in one of these proverbs, shares how “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out” (Proverbs 18:15 NIV). Seeking out someone who knows more about The Bible than you, who can mentor and help you through reading and understanding the Scripture = acquiring knowledge.

Finally, pray whenever you are about to read The Bible. And again, for those who don’t do a whole lot of praying, that’s OK. Something that helped me the most was finding a space (maybe a study lounge in a residence hall or a space in a house or apartment) each morning where I could be alone, and imagining myself meeting with God — a space where I can just verbally talk and think and journal. Heck, I still do this (mostly) every morning. I set an alarm or notification for when I should begin my daily time in reading The Bible, and before I begin I allow for a couple minutes to talk to God, to focus my mind on what He wants me to learn from my allotted time with Him in His Word.

Reading The Bible will be a long process that requires dedication, but I fully believe it is worth it to read and grow in understanding of God our Creator who values us and wants a relationship with us.

Make 2018 the year you truly begin to understand just what exactly The Bible is and what it says. I guarantee, you will be surprised what God reveals to you through studying His Word.