I started reading the Old Testament, the Torah, Genesis through Deuteronomy, in the fall of 2025. And yes, I am still in it. Not because I am stuck, but because I am lingering.
I have learned to read Scripture in layers. First, I read big chunks to understand the story, to see the movement, the tension, the arc of God and His people. Then I go back, slower this time, piece by piece, to uncover the revelation.
I read through it once in my preaching Bible with a specific set of highlighters. Then I sit with a small journal for each book, unpacking the granular takeaways, what God is saying, what He is revealing, what He is correcting in me.
Because the Bible, for me, has never been just a book to read. It is a meal to ingest and come back to.
And when I do not read it, I feel it. A deep hunger in my soul. In my attitude. In my mind.
I knew my last season required me to guard my heart and lead with wisdom. I sensed this new season would require more, more leadership, more pouring out, more clarity. So I adjusted how I approached Scripture.
And here I am now on my second round of Deuteronomy in less than a year. Back again in the first eight chapters. Reading slower. Seeing deeper. Feeling it more personally than before.
Today, I was in Deuteronomy 1:1 through 3.
Deuteronomy is Moses’ final message, his last moment with the next generation. He is about to recap their entire story. But notice who he is speaking to. Not the fearful, unbelieving generation that died in the wilderness, but a younger generation.
A generation that has already tasted victory. They have just defeated kingdoms, kings, enemies connected to giants. And now they are sitting across from the Promised Land, still facing giants.
And Deuteronomy begins with something most of us skip.
- Details.
- Locations.
- Names we cannot pronounce.
But those verses are not random. They are sacred. Because they reveal this.
God’s people are on the edge of their promise. Literally and figuratively. Before Moses releases them across the Jordan, before Jericho, before more battles, before more giants, he pauses them. He gives them a recap. He reminds them of God’s faithfulness.
Because you do not step into promise on hype. You step into promise on remembrance.
Those locations are not filler. They are markers of where God showed up. Where they failed. Where they learned. Where God remained faithful anyway.
And now they are standing in another place that feels unfamiliar. Surrounded by things they do not fully understand. Facing what feels bigger than them.
And God says pause.
Because the pause is holy. The recap is holy. It is where God reminds us that He has been with us, that He has gone before us, and that He will do it again.
I do not know what place you are in right now. Maybe it feels unfamiliar. Hard to define. Full of things you cannot quite understand. But if you are on the edge of something, do not skip the pause. Because sometimes the most powerful thing you can do before stepping into what is next is remember what God has already done.
x Onward, Chari
🙌🏽🙌🏽 There is purpose in the pause.
Selah 😮💨🙌🏽
Love you sharing this!
Since I began reading the Bible Recap, I too was at a pause in Deuteronomy as things I’d read a hundred times before – lit up.
God has clearly spoken the pause to me in an area of my life. It’s a place of learning, leaning in & resting in the fact that God has it under control, as He always has.
Thank you for sharing 😊
YES!! I agree and so appreciate your comments. I recall the Hebrew word, Dayenu “it would have been enough.” Looking at each thing He has done, and if He did nothing else, anyone would have been enough! There is power in looking in remembering and using memories as steppingstones heading into the future.
You are such a blessing to us! Love you.