The Weekly Encourager – January 8, 2015 – A Word for the Year
The Weekly Encourager – January 8, 2015 – A Word for the Year
Do you find it hard to commit to intensive Bible Studies in which you study multiple concepts each week and dozens each month? Maybe you're a mom with small children who need constant attention, or caring for disabled or aged relatives, or getting an advanced degree, or starting a new business endeavor, or struggling with chronic illness. You may be in a busy season of life with little time to devote, yet you know how important it is to hide God's word in your heart.
This holiday season, I was introduced to the idea of choosing only one word to study and meditate upon and grow from for the entire upcoming year. I've been reading “One Perfect Word: One Word Can Make All the Difference” by Debbie Macomber. For over 20 years, Macomber has been meeting with the same group of women each week. She relates, “every January we've each selected a word to serve as a personal focus for the year. Over time the words I've chosen have had a powerful impact on my life....When I find my word and begin to explore it, God takes me deep into that one word....When we choose one single word from His Word and spend a year with it, I've found that the Lord takes us by the hand and walks us through the year, teaching us about that word, about ourselves, and even more, about God Himself.”
“One Word That Will Change Your Life” by Dan Britton, Jimmy Page, and Jon Gordon, advises you to simplify your life and business by focusing on just one word for the entire year, making it a catalyst for change. This book explains how your word can impact the six dimensions of your life: mental, physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, and financial. The thought is that a list of lofty resolutions is easily forgotten, but one word lends a laser-like focus, providing power for positive change. They also say, “The most important part of life-change is a change of the heart” and “one word frees us up.” Serving, Purpose, Grace, Surrender, Power, and Discipline are examples of words that these authors say have transformed their lives. A group of people can choose the same word if they will be working together toward the same goal.
In a blog called One Word 365, Brittany Barbera invites people to join “a global tribe committed to journeying together and living intentionally. You can connect with others who have chosen the same word or live in your area. Together we can inspire and challenge each other.” There's a great list of word suggestions if you need one.
How do we choose our word for the year? One way would be to sit down and review the past year. Where did I succeed, by God's grace? What worked, and what didn't? What needs to change? You might draw up new goals for the coming year. One year Macomber chose Desire as her word, since she wanted to make significant progress toward her deep desire to be a writer. Another year she chose Hunger as her word, because she was motivated to deal with over-eating. Another year she was plagued with anxiety about circumstances in her life, so she chose the word Trust.
A second way to choose the word would be to prayerfully ask the Lord to reveal it to you. He may already be doing so, but you haven't been paying attention. I have found that sometimes the same word or concept will keep cropping up. Now you know that's not coincidence! During the last couple weeks of December and into the first week of January, I have found one word appearing in several different ways: in a Christmas carol, in a sermon at church, in a book I was reading, in conversation with a friend, in my regular devotional reading, in a song on the radio. That word is Light, and every time I see or hear it, it seems illuminated by the Spirit so that I won't miss it. I am confident that this is something the Lord wants me to study at this time in my life, although I couldn't say why. I don't know what the new year will bring.
I'm excited about exploring this word from many angles, looking up Scriptures about it, and meditating upon it throughout the year. There may be times when I have opportunity to do some serious word study, including looking up the Greek and Hebrew terms, using a concordance to see all the ways the word is used in the Bible, reading what commentaries have to say, etc. There may be other times when all I can do is think about the word and ask God to help me remember that He is Light during a demanding or dark time. Although I am terrible at memorization, maybe I'll be able to memorize some key verses about Light. What a blessing it will be to gain a better grasp of even one of God's many attributes!
If you're not already doing a Bible study, I challenge you to think about choosing one word for the year. Let me know how it works out, and what the Lord shows you. Macomber says that as she looks back at the end of the year, she can see how God used that word in her personal journey in ways she would not have expected as the year began. God works all things for good!
God is faithful,
j
http://www.debbiemacomber.com/
Oe Word 365 is more than a new way to approach resolutions. It’s a global tribe committed to journeying together and living intentionally.
You cOne Word 365 is more than a new way to approach resolutions. It’s a global tribe committed to journeying together and living intentionally.
You can connect with others who have chosen the same word or live in your area. Together, we can inspire and challenge each other to live purposefully all year long.
a connect with others who have chosen the same word or live in your area. Together, we can inspire and challenge each other to liurposefully all year l