Back in December I really wanted to choose a word for 2021. Although I had a few ideas, I had no idea what word to choose. I had never really considered choosing a word for the year, I suppose it’s not really something that I had thought about before. I had seen a few people choose a word and also from the previous year. So I took it to God and I asked Him to provide me with a word, and over and over again I kept coming back to the word Hope. So my word for the year is ‘Hope’.

The word hope appears a lot in the Bible. One of the definitions for hope is “to place confidence; to trust with confident expectation of good.” I really love this definition of hope. The three words that I automatically picked out of that is, confidence, trust and good. God wants us to put our full trust in Him, to be confident and know that He will work all things for good, because He is a good and faithful father. 

My Word For The Year Is Hope

It can be so easy to get discouraged, to let fear take over and to struggle staying positive. I know I have throughout the years. When all we hear is bad news being thrown at us left, right and centre, it’s no wonder we get discouraged. And when the things of the world seem so tempting, and we start listening to who the world tells us to be, what we should be doing and comparing ourselves to others, it can be extremely hard!

But amongst all the chaos, there is a love that is everlasting, there are wonderful promises that have been made to each and every one of us, there is hope and the impossible can and will be made possible. God’s love for us is everlasting, the Bible is filled with His wonderful promises to us, through God we have hope and with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) In Mark 9:23, Jesus says, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11. 

As we read in Jeremiah 29:11, God knows the plans that He has for us. We were thought of and planned long before we were even thought about and conceived here on earth. God’s plans for us are good and they are to give us hope and a future. Sometimes in life the unexpected happens, the things that we thought could never happen do happen, but it’s in those moments that we have a choice to make, do we keep hold of God’s promises, do we keep on trusting Him and putting our hope in Him, or do we give in to the ways of the world, that lead to devastation and destruction, do we follow the lies of the enemy? I know which one I will always choose.

We don’t always know why certain things happen in life. I have thought about that many times throughout my life, more than I can ever count, but what I do know is that during those times, God has brought me through them. And each time, it has been a season for learning, a season for growth and a season of being brought closer to God. It’s in those moments of surrendering and giving it all to God, where I have felt God’s presence, His peace and strength fill me, He has answered prayers and worked miracles. In John 16:33, Jesus says how in this world we will have trouble, but to take heart, because He has overcome the world. God never promised us a life free from trouble, but what He does promise us is His protection, His help, to always be with us, to provide and deliver, to give us strength and so much more.  

It felt right that this should be my word for the year. For far too many years I looked to the things of the world, I put my hope in other things and people and I wasn’t putting my full trust in God. And I ended up on a downward spiral. And for me the word hope is a reminder of how far God has brought me since the beginning of last year and how I have experienced His wonderful healing. I can fully trust God because He is good, I know that through Him all things work out for good and He keeps His promises, that He is faithful and through Him I am strengthened. This word will be an anchor for me throughout the year, to remember all that God has done, all that He is doing and all that He will do.  

God gives me strength when I feel I am unable to carry on, His Word fills me with hope, peace and comfort, and no matter where I am or what I may be going through, God promises that He will always be there. And God gave us the greatest gift, He sent His Son Jesus to be with us, to save us, to bring hope, to heal us, to fill the earth with God’s incredible light, and He sacrificed Himself for us, for our sins, so that we can be forgiven and spend eternity with our Father. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16.)

So my word for this year is ‘Hope’. God promises that He will always be with us, that He will protect us, He is our constant light in the darkness that never goes out and no darkness will overcome it. And what the enemy has meant for evil, God can and will turn it to good. Because the enemy has already been defeated. 

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4.

And it’s so important to always remember who God says you are, not who the world says you are. God loves you so much no matter what, and you are fearfully and wonderfully made. “He calls me beautiful one.” (Song of Songs 2:10) And you are a child of God, A daughter or son of the most high King. 

Dear God, I pray that you will bless us with joyful hope, that you will fill us with your peace and strength that only you can give to us. You are our protection, our ever-present help in trouble, our light in the darkness and you promise over and over again that you will always be with us. You know the plans that you have for us Father and they are good plans, plans to give us hope and a future. I pray that you will guide us in all that we do and that your voice will be the loudest voice in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I would love to know in the comments if you have chosen a word for this year and what your word is?

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