Have you ever thought of having a Word for the year?  I started doing this in 2019.  I was asked to choose a word for the year and then a Bible verse or verses to support me in that focus.  I prayed and asked God to give me a word to focus upon for 2019. He gave me the word Trust.  Right then I was going through some things that required that I Trust in Him more than ever and not the world, things or people around me.  The verses I chose were Psalm 37:5, “Commit your way to the Lord;  trust in him and he will do this” and Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good,  a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,

In 2020, God gave me the word Hope. I did not know a pandemic was coming but God did and it was the perfect word. In 2021 I found myself bogged down by the pandemic, life’s complexities with schooling my grandkids, working on Zoom and continued isolation. I felt I lacked something and the word God gave me was Joy. In 2022, God impressed upon me that I needed to seek Him and focus on Faith. In 2023, my word was Obedience. That word was wonderful and I saw spiritual growth in so many ways. In 2024, my word was Commit. As I recently reflected, God showed His faithfulness in different aspects of my life as I committed to serve Him. In 2025, I was moaning a lot over again and the aches and pains that were creeping into my life and clouding my perspective. God gave me the word Thankful. It only took about 3 months of keeping a thankfulness journal to turn my thinking around and lift my countenance.

So what about 2026? Actually, the word God has impressed upon me is diligent. I started praying and thinking about my word in mid-December and God impressed the word upon my heart. I fought it for several weeks- in denial that this was my word but came to realize it was my word for 2026 for sure. In the next few days, I will pray about 8-10 words related to diligent that will help to hone and sharpen my focus. They can be words that help you to see that aspect of your life more clearly or how it can be used in relationship to others.

Pray about your 1 Word. Ask God to give you direction and focus that can carry and motivate you throughout the year. If you have it, send me a response, I’d love to see it. I’ll blog more about the related words in a few days.

Linda

(After I got started with this, I discovered there is actually a book called One Word that will change your life. It is written by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page. It is a short book that explains how they arrived at this discovery and how God has used it in their lives both personally and corporately. I got mine on Amazon.)