One Word
When you come to New Year’s 2018, will you even remember what you committed to do in your life or change in your life on New Year’s 2017? Most of us do not have to look at statistics to know that New Year’s resolutions don’t usually last very long. We can get all pumped up and committed on January 1, but by January 10 it is over! The resolutions are broken, we are discouraged, and we find ourselves doing the same old things over and over again.
For the last few years, Nancy and I have taken the lead from our senior pastor in prayerfully choosing a word for the new year. In 2016 my word was trust. I wanted to trust God more and not doubt Him. Here is what I wrote down in my journal last January 1 and what I looked at and prayed over almost every single day of the year.
One Word: Trust
Psalm 56:11
in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?
Psalm 62:8
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.
One Thought: As I trust, I draw closer to Him.
One Statement: Because I trust Him, I can risk for Him without fear. What I want most is to trust God in all things, every day, no matter what is going on around me.
My one discipline: What do I need to do NOW to have what I want MOST Each day totally trust Him.
What if you and your spouse together picked a word for this year and let God build it into your lives? I cannot even begin to tell you how my trust in Him has grown this year. Let me put it this way: You have absolutely nothing to lose by giving this idea a shot, and you have absolutely so much to gain by doing it! Then when January 1, 2018, rolls around, you will have a story to tell of all God has done in your life!