This is the fifth year that I have joined in on the "pick a word for the year train". Every year in the summer and fall as I start to pray about the upcoming year and ask the Lord for a word and for some scripture verses for the year I am always amazed at how the Lord leads. As the coming year unfolds I am continuously amazed at how uniquely this word will come into play in encouraging me, reminding me of God's unique grace and love, and the way that I see His plan unfold in specific ways for a variety of different seasons and situations.
As a new year begins we never know what will be coming in front of us. We don't know the unique and difficult challenges we may face along with the beautiful highs and blessings that are yet to be seen. And yet as I think and pray about a word for the year I am constantly surprised at the way that I see God in His tender mercy reflect the promise and hope of the word that I have chosen.
My words for the last four years have been:
Rachat (2017)
Anew (2016)
Mettle (2015)
Valor (2014)
Over the past few months as I have prayed about 2018, the Lord kept bringing to mind the themes of hope and expectancy. These are two words that I have been specifically praying as I continue to heal in this health journey and have been challenged to examine the ways that I consider present and future moments. In the last few months I truly felt the Lord impressing upon my hear these two themes for this coming year. So as I continued to pray I felt the Lord bring these two words together into one perfect word:
Espoir is a french word that means:
(1) expectancy
(2) hope
(1) expectancy
(2) hope
Granted, it is not a word that is "common" or used everyday but the definitions sum up exactly what I pray for for this coming year. You may be wondering why I chose the french word for this year and I can't wait to share more with you in the coming weeks a few of my goals for this upcoming year and will explain the unique reason I have chosen the french word.
This word is perfect for many areas of my life, but as this battle for my health continues to be very difficult and demanding and I want to meet this challenge with the expectancy and hope of what is coming and the full belief that the Lord is at work. I want to persevere and yet live fully in this season. As I lean on the Lord's strength to conquer the "unknowns" of what lies ahead with my health, healing, relationships, my professional life, my shop, my writing, and some personal circumstances I can rest fully in the knowledge that His strength is going to give me the joy to face these demanding and difficult situations and bring about a victory that I could never imagine.
As I pick and consider a word for each year I also work to memorize 12 key scripture verses throughout the year (one for each month) that relate to my word for the year. I also pick a verse that is a key verse for the whole year. This key verse this year is from
"In the morning I lay my requests before you and watch expectantly."
-Psalm 3:5-
A lot of time as a young sick gal I find myself facing the truth that I struggle with this concept due to the season of illness. To be honest I have come to realize that after this season I often expect the worst instead of the best in big and small things. Instead of believing for joy and hope I often question, doubt, and wonder behind the scenes. I was hit with this fully when I was examining a situation in my personal life. A dear and trusted friend said to me, "but Rebecca, what if the best case scenario happens"? several months ago and as the situation has played out it has been consistently a story of the best case scenario happening. I was humbled by this and as this new year approached I knew that I wanted to live fully expectant with hope in all areas of my life.
This word is perfect for many areas of my life, but as this battle for my health continues to be very difficult and demanding and I want to meet this challenge with the expectancy and hope of what is coming and the full belief that the Lord is at work. I want to persevere and yet live fully in this season. As I lean on the Lord's strength to conquer the "unknowns" of what lies ahead with my health, healing, relationships, my professional life, my shop, my writing, and some personal circumstances I can rest fully in the knowledge that His strength is going to give me the joy to face these demanding and difficult situations and bring about a victory that I could never imagine.
As I pick and consider a word for each year I also work to memorize 12 key scripture verses throughout the year (one for each month) that relate to my word for the year. I also pick a verse that is a key verse for the whole year. This key verse this year is from
"In the morning I lay my requests before you and watch expectantly."
-Psalm 3:5-
A lot of time as a young sick gal I find myself facing the truth that I struggle with this concept due to the season of illness. To be honest I have come to realize that after this season I often expect the worst instead of the best in big and small things. Instead of believing for joy and hope I often question, doubt, and wonder behind the scenes. I was hit with this fully when I was examining a situation in my personal life. A dear and trusted friend said to me, "but Rebecca, what if the best case scenario happens"? several months ago and as the situation has played out it has been consistently a story of the best case scenario happening. I was humbled by this and as this new year approached I knew that I wanted to live fully expectant with hope in all areas of my life.
The Lord brought about so much redemption and restoration this past year. He truly brought Rachat into the deep crevices of my life. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for this year!
So that is my "word" for the year friends! Did y'all pick a "word" for this year? I would love to hear about it and what the significance is to you!!
"Everyday you preach to yourself a gospel of your loneliness, inability, and lack of resources or you faithfully preach to yourself the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."
-Paul David Tripp-
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