I don’t know if it is just me, but the gap between Christmas and New Year’s feels like a strange time warp. I am not sure what day it is; my routine is out of sync, and I am still recovering from the chaos of the holidays. But this year, I am trying to use this week to look ahead to the New Year and focus on what is ahead. In the past, I have done (well attempted) the new year’s resolutions, I have focused on a word of the year, but this year I am trying a new approach.
The past year has been filled with many highs, some lows, a lot of learning moments, balancing multiple plates, and feeling like I need to do it all and have my stuff together. Spoiler alert: I did not, in fact, have it all together. As I reflect on how the year went, I put so much pressure on myself to keep all the plates spinning.
The people pleaser in me did not want to disappoint anyone. Ironically, the plate I needed to keep spinning the most was the one I prioritized the least and that is my faith. I found myself being so absorbed in what was happening to me rather than stepping back and asking God what He is trying to teach me in the moment.
As I look ahead to this next year, I have chosen a few Bible verses and prayers that I want to focus on this coming year.
Instead of my focus being on a resolution or a word, I want to be more intentional about relying on scripture and prayer, focusing on God’s word as the source of my joy, identity, and comfort in times of need. I want to share a few that I will be meditating on and praying over this next year.
For the season that lacks, feels empty or dry.
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”
– Habakkuk 3:17-19
For the season of thanksgiving.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
– Psalm 100:1-5
For the season of unknowns and new directions.
“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”
– Psalm 25: 4-5
I hope these verses bring you the same peace and comfort as they do me. I am hopeful and excited for what God is going to do in this next year. I pray that our focus remains on Him and His steadfast love and that we can see His hand working through every situation, circumstance, and challenge ahead.
