NEW YEAR RESOLUTION: ONE WORD

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION: ONE WORD

Monday, January 3rd, 2022

SCRIPTURE:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. – Isaiah 43:18-19

THOUGHTS TO PONDER:

Happy New Year! It’s a New Year, a season for new beginnings, fresh starts, great opportunities, and endless possibilities to live into who God has called us to be. Every New Year, we have hopes to make great strides in whatever new discipline or thing we want to take up. However, even with good intentions, it seems as though after only a matter of weeks, or even days for some, a resolution is all but forgotten.

And so, with that in mind, for the last several years, my wife and I have been embracing the New Year with just One Word. Not a phrase, or a slogan, or some lengthy process of establishing a new habit, routine, etc, but simply just One Word. Having just One Word to focus on and to be thinking about and praying about has been quite transformative. One Word such as Discipline, Health, Relationships, Joy, Renewal, Worship, Simplicity, Family, etc… As the Lord reveals to you your One Word, keep in mind that your One Word will challenge the way you think, serve, love, and live your life in the coming year. Such a concept has transformed my life over the years.

This New Year, instead of a lengthy resolution, consider just One Word that you’ll commit to live by. Ask the Lord to reveal that One Word to you and get started. It’s a New Year, full of adventure, opportunity, and blessing.

FOR REFLECTION:

What has God been saying to you this past year? What lessons have you learned? What areas of growth and opportunity do you sense the Lord is revealing to you today? How would you describe it in just One Word? And would that One Word be an area of focus for you in the coming New Year?

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, as I start the New Year, I ask that you make it a life-changing transformative year for me. I want to live for You alone. Reveal Yourself to me as You show me what my One Word theme will be for this year. O God, I long to know You more and Your will for my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and strengthen me as I live out my One Word every day this New Year. - In Jesus’ name. - Amen.

RESOURCE/IDEA:

Whatever your One Word is, print it out, frame it, put it somewhere in your house, car, and/or office where you’re sure to see it every day.

* devotional written by Rev. Mark Muckler