Ok, I admit it.
I am one of those people who choose a word of the year. And honestly? It’s never “worked”. Ha. I feel like I always go into a year with this theme in mind, and then I always end the year disappointed that my theme never came to be. I never mustered up enough faithfulness or gumption to make it happen. Or circumstances so far out of my control happened and never made it come to be.
For the year 2019, I picked the word “abundance”. And that year brought an abundance of struggles that is for sure! That year started with Ezra in the hospital, then a few days later my Grandma passing away. It continued with a friend facing some really difficult consequences for some really unwise actions. We put our house up for sale and through a series of unfortunate events, it did not sell for nine long months. We moved out of our house, then discovered with had a very crazy and dangerous neighbor, so 6 months later, we moved back into our unsold house. Theo shredded his hamstring and nearly cut off his finger. In fact, 2019 knocked me so flat on my back that I didn’t pick a word of the year for 2020.
For 2021, I picked the word “restoration” because I was so ready to have a year of restoring all the pieces that felt broken and all the things that we had struggled with.
And at the end of the year, I will admit that I don’t feel restored. In fact, I think I might feel even more exhausted than I did at the end of 2020.
I think that something that picking a word of the year teaches me, though, is that it’s not most likely not going to happen as a result of me. I cannot manifest abundance and restoration just by picking that as a word of the year.
But, picking a word of the year helps me to find that theme in the Bible, in God, and in the body of Christ around me. Sure, maybe *I* don’t personally feel “restored”, but one thing I learned is that God is the God of restoration and he WILL restore himself (and us) to his former glory- one day! It didn’t happen in 2021, but it WILL happen- and that is why I have hope. I didn’t feel like I was given a lot of great abundance in 2019, but I was able to learn to look for God’s abundance in places that I wouldn’t have though to look before.
I almost didn’t pick a word this year. I hadn’t thought about it, and then when I did think about it, nothing came to mind. Then, a word came to me and I almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of it. This word does NOT fit me at all. This word is something that I struggle with, and something that does not come naturally to me. Plus, I felt like this word didn’t have anything to do with becoming Christ-like, because when I think of it, I think of being more me-centered.
But I finally decided to look up the word in Scripture and see what I can find, and I was shocked to see over 30 times that this word is referenced in Scripture! So I decided to go ahead and go with my word of the year as CONFIDENCE.
Why confidence?
First of all, it is something that I am seriously lacking. The events of 2020 and 2021 took a lot from me and I lost a lot of confidence in both my lifestyle and my thought process. It felt like a lot of the things that I stood for came under attack and I really struggled to find my worth in the midst of all the social and political outspokenness. One thing that I would really like to work on is listening to the other side while also staying true to my own side and being confident in what I believe and why I believe it. This especially feels relevant to my faith and my role as the wife of a law enforcement officer.
I think sometimes we see confident people as ones who are willing to step on other people’s toes and don’t care what anyone else thinks of them. I don’t think this will ever be me. But, I do want to know (for myself) why I care about some things, and I don’t want to be afraid to say something that someone else might not like, if it is something that I have truly thought through and feel passionate about.
Second of all, I want to learn to use my gifts better. I know that I have been given gifts and talents, or I have a unique experience that has led me to have knowledge or near expertise in a certain area, but I often sell myself short and don’t share or help out because I feel like surely someone out there is better than I am. I do this often with my teaching role, where I often feel like I have nothing to bring to the table because I am not as experienced as some other teachers. But it turns out that I actually have a gift and it can be used for good!
Thirdly, it turns out that Scripture has a lot to say about confidence– in God! Confidence in my identity with Christ. Confidence in what He has called me to do. Throughout the year, I will do a word study on how confidence is used throughout Scripture, but for this post I though I would share one of favorite passages that talks about confidence in Christ.
Proverbs 3
My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
2 for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.
3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will find favor and good success[a]
in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh[b]
and refreshment[c] to your bones.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
10 then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.
13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.
19 The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding he established the heavens;
20 by his knowledge the deeps broke open,
and the clouds drop down the dew.
21 My son, do not lose sight of these—
keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22 and they will be life for your soul
and adornment for your neck.
23 Then you will walk on your way securely,
and your foot will not stumble.
24 If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror
or of the ruin[d] of the wicked, when it comes,
26 for the Lord will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being caught.
27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,[e]
when it is in your power to do it.
Scripture also talks a lot about the confidence that we now have in approaching God because of the way that Jesus has made. I love that as a focus for the year, because to be honest, I have had a difficult time applying the beauty of prayer to my life when I don’t see vending machine results.
Another thing I like to do when picking my word of the year is to look up the definition of the word and to study words that mean the opposite.
Confidence–
the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust
the state of feeling certain about the truth of something
a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities
Words Related to Confidence
Self-Assurance
Contentment
Glorification
Trust
Satisfaction
Opposites of Confident
Uncertainty
Skepticism
Distrust
Insecurity
Self-Doubt
Apprehension
Doubt
What about you? Do you pick a word of the year? What is your word for the year?
Good blog! I picked the phrase “heart of Christ” last year. Mostly this involved asking God for a fuller understanding of the heart of Christ and then asking that i would have a heart like Christ towards others. This year, I’m focusing in on resting in Christ — relying on Christ’s works of righteousness instead of trying to please God with my good works that are constantly falling short.
I picked the word “comfort”. I don’t feel that I intentionally picked it, though. It came to me as I prayed for a word and I’m doing a scripture study now on that word.
I’d love to see an update on you’re 22 year! This seems to be the word I am given. And to note this past month was the first time I had ever heard about trying this and so I just found out about picking a word of the year, I think just at the middle of December it seems. Otherwise I have never came across something like this. But I have been intrigued and curious ever since and I have been praying and praying that God would reveal my word to me and Confidence seems to be the one. I took a test like 4 times and chose a few different answers each time that really felt right for me and 3 out of 4 the word Confidence came as my word. To mention also my Mother In Law honestly brought to my attention not to many days ago.. right before Christmas actually. But when I was duscussing this with her not knowing what my word should be or could be… just by hearing some of my own personal comments she mentioned that in her words exactly ” just from what you’ve written…perhaps your word should be confidence or self-apprreciation”. So in a way I see the little ways God might be speaking and helping me see what my word should be! So pls if you are open and interested since I’ve gotten lost in discussing haha how did your 2022 “Confidence” Journey go this year and what are some of the things you did and how did you approach it and how has it changed your confidence this past year.