Rethinking “Just Read the Bible”

What the Bible Says About Struggle, Healing, and Growth

When Christians struggle, a common response is to turn quickly to Scripture and cherry pick verses that feel relevant. But what does the Bible as a whole actually say about faith, failure, healing, and growth—and how does it shape our understanding of human struggle?

Jacqueline Sohn, PhD

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I remember a comment a friend made years ago that stayed with me because it bothered me at the time. When people talked about struggling and wondering whether they should go to therapy, he said his default response was, “Just read your Bible.”

I heard that as harsh—dismissive, even. It felt disconnected from the real weight people were carrying, and from the complexity of what suffering can do to a person. At the time, it struck me as an oversimplified, insensitive response.

Only much later did I begin to hear that comment differently.

What Scripture consistently makes clear

That shift didn’t come through theory or professional training. It came slowly, through reading Scripture more carefully and building biblical literacy over time—particularly through studying the Bible in community. As my appreciation for the Word deepened, what began to stand out was not how often people “got it right,” but how consistently Scripture tells the truth about human failure, even among those described as faithful, chosen, and deeply loved by God.

Again and again, the Bible shows us people who are no different from us. They encounter God. They experience His presence. And they still fall short—often in costly, painful ways. Their lives are not presented as success stories, nor are we given neat conclusions about whether they eventually figure things out. More often, we are left with the reality of mixed faithfulness: courage alongside fear, obedience alongside resistance, trust alongside self-protection.

What Scripture consistently makes clear, however, is not the outcome of their growth, but the character of God. The focus is not on whether people finally measure up, but on the fact that God continues to act with mercy, patience, and faithfulness regardless of their failure. Their strengths and weaknesses are both visible, yet neither is the point. The story rests on who God is and what He does.

The Bible’s honesty about people prepares us to understand why grace must be central rather than supplemental. Scripture does not ask us to trust in human consistency or eventual improvement. It assumes God already knows our limits.

What a gift and assurance that at the centre of the story is Jesus, who stands in our place and accomplishes what we cannot accomplish for ourselves. Grace is not a response to success or failure. It is the steady, defining reality that runs through the story from beginning to end.

Relearning the Faith Heroes

In the past, I had been surprised and confused by how deeply biblical figures fell, even after encountering God so directly, the same way I felt when this happened to people I knew. I’m not sure why I was surprised and confused by the biblical figures, when I had grown up hearing their stories... probably because of how Bible stories are often taught, especially to children. I had grown accustomed to seeing these figures primarily as faith heroes, rather than as people who knew God, experienced His presence, and still failed in profound ways. All very human.

Reading their stories more carefully forced a shift in the way I viewed them and the people in my life - including myself. Scripture does not minimize the damage of their choices. It tells the truth plainly and mercifully. The openness of their failures is not meant to shame them, but to enable mercy. The hero of these stories is not David, or Abraham, or Peter. It is God. In the same way, the hero and centre of our lives is not meant to be us. It is God. Obvious, yet not so obvious in our day to day lives.

The Bible Recalibrates our Expectations

This perspective also helps recalibrate our expectations. Rather than being shocked by human failure, Scripture teaches us to expect it, without surrendering hope. God’s redemptive purposes are not fragile. They are not undone by inconsistency or weakness.

Seeing human failure clearly became a gift in the way it enabled me to see myself and others in those stories. And seeing God’s continued pursuit, patience, and redemption made it possible to believe that He relates to us with the same steady grace.

Over time, I began to notice how easily Christians—including myself—slip into expecting faith to look like steady progress and sustained fruitfulness. The Bible tells a different story. It assumes fragility and falling short. It assumes fear, pride, avoidance, and return. It assumes that even sincere faith will falter.

Incomplete - not wrong

And so, with time, I came to see that my friend’s comment was not wrong – it was incomplete. Scripture does not promise quick fixes or uninterrupted growth. It offers something deeper: an honest account of who we are, and a steady revelation of who God is.

“Just read your Bible” is right without the just. Scripture is essential and, read carefully, it leads us toward healing, openness to wise care (such as good professional counselling), and life in community.