What's your word or resolution for 2020? About 8 years ago I heard a great sermon while we stationed in Georgia. It was at our church Compassion Christian. That was a church I did a lot of spiritual growing at. One of those places that will always be special and close to my heart! The pastor gave a sermon on new year resolutions and all the statistics that come with them and then he gave us a challenge to pick one word that we could focus on for that year. And instead of the word focussing on something we wanted for ourselves it was a word that God wanted to use in our lives to bring us closer to Him. In retrospect, it was taking all the worldly qualities out of resolutions and making it about my walk with God and how a new year could bring me even closer to Him. This was a new concept to me and it was exciting. It made me anxious but it was still something new I could try! Over the years, I have started praying a couple weeks before the new year and asking God to reveal what it is He wants me to focus on.
I have had words in the past like PRAYER, PATIENCE, COMPROMISE, ENDURANCE. Some of my words have stuck with me for years and the seasons they brought me through were really significant parts of my life. One example is the year I was given PRAYER. I assumed it was because I needed to focus on praying more. I was going to work on my intimacy with God in this area. Little did I know that later that year, my husband would be deployed and that he would be fighting for his life as well as many others that were defending our country right beside him. There were months he went dark and I had no communication with him at all. Because I had been leaning into prayer so much already that year when those times of desperation came I was ready to hit my knees day and night for my husband. And God was there through every tear and fear and heartbreaking moment. My husband came home from that deployment. Not every man came home that left though. Without the foundation of prayer that the beginning of the year had given me I would not have been able to stand and support the families that needed us most. That year is just one example of the words God has given me since that sermon so long ago. Some of the words stick with me so clearly and others have since faded into the background. But every single one had a purpose and a season in which I needed them. Do you have a word that God gives you? Maybe it is a verse? Or a phrase He wants you to focus on? I know this has become much more popular and more people are talking about a word or a theme for their new year! It can be an exciting and thrilling time. Towards the end of December I started praying about what my word might be for 2020. I knew God had whispered it to me long before then but that human nature in me just wanted to make sure 😂 Our lives are taking a big turn this year and in just 2 months we will be embarking on a journey that God has set before us. As a family we have sold almost all of our earthly possessions, we have almost finished remodeling a 5th wheel RV, we have sold 2 cars to get 1 truck and we are becoming a full time RV family. If you would have told us this 6 months ago we would have laughed. We were so sure we knew the next steps, the next season. But God had other plans and in a time of fasting and prayer we said yes and the journey to this transition began. OBEDIENCE: compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority. That doesn't sound very fun does it 😂 OBEDIENCE IN CHRIST. I love the way it is described here, "If we cooperate with Him in loving obedience, God will manifest Himself to us, and that manifestation will be the difference between a nominal Christian life and a life radiant with the light of His face.” — A.W. Tozer — My word is OBEDIENCE and although that season of obedience began long before 2020 I have a feeling that my choices in which I can choose to obey or disobey have just begun! I always get a little nervous after the Lord reveals my word to me because I think of all the ways I could be tested by the word and all the ways I could be stretched and all the ways God could use it to grow me. But it the end obedience brings peace and peace brings my relationship with Jesus Christ to the attention of the world around me. What more could I want? I want His light and peace to be so obvious in me that it is noticeable and it is desired by those around me. Obedience is hard! And I will be digging in a little deeper into all that that means in my next blog. I pray that you all have sought after His desire for your new year and if you haven't found the time yet find some soon because God is anxious to tell you all He wants for you!
So now I have put it out there into internet land that my word and commitment for 2020 is Obedience in Christ!! What more accountability do I need 😆💞💪
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