By: Didi Bacon

I have been practicing seeking out my one God word for the start of the year for several years now. The process is detailed in a little book entitled One Word That Will Change Your Life, by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page.

If you have not gone through it, I encourage you to do it. You basically go through a three-step process. Step one is to unplug and look in. Get quiet and prepare your heart to listen to God on what one word captures His will for you in the coming year. Step two is plug in and listen up. Listen through Bible reading, prayer, reflection, journaling for your God word. Step three is to look out and live it. Put together an action plan to communicate your word and live it out.

My word for 2021 was Coach. I committed myself to look for coaching opportunities to share my God gifts to help others thrive.

This year my word is NEW. It is my commitment to join where God is calling me into His work of making everything new.

Revelation 21:5 – “I am making everything new!”

I do not just want to see things repaired; I want to see how God will recreate and remake. How God will make things new in my daily rhythms physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I want to see God’s Spirit make things like new in my relationships, marriage, role as a father to adult children, and as a friend. I want to see God’s work to make things new in the ministry I have been invited to be a part of. An old teacher once said that a rut is a grave with the ends kicked out. I don’t want to go back to the same old ruts of the past but to look for God’s prompts in making things new.

So what will be your word for the New Year? Will you trust God even during challenging times by being bold and being brave, by pursuing your God word for 2022, by serving our God who tells us that He is at work – making everything new?