“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.” Psalms 130:5 NIV
About 5 years ago, I heard about a practice of ‘having a word for the year’. I heard about it on “The Message” channel of Sirius XM. So, over the past several years, I have tried to think of a word to focus on each year. When I heard about this practice I decided to give it a chance, and 5 years later I believe it is still a good practice to have. Since 2020, I have focused on the words PEACE, GRACE, LOVE, FAITH and OBEDIENCE. So this year, I have been thinking a lot about the word HOPE.
I had a friend named Hope who went home to be with the Lord in 2023 and recently I have been thinking about her a lot. So I want to focus this year on the word HOPE. Hope is defined in the bible as “a confident expectation of what God has promised in the future”. There are so many verses in the Bible about this word, Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 5:5 to name a few. So I don’t think it will be hard to study this word through the year.
In the beginning of this psalm, David is looking for God. He is searching for forgiveness. So he is determined to wait for God. When David says that his whole being waits, he is telling us that he is all in. He is not giving up on his waiting for God, he is instead determined to remain in hope. The hope that God will answer his prayer and forgive him. David knows God has promised His children that He will answer their prayers.
God continues with that promise even today, when we go to Him in prayer. It may take a while and it may not be the answer you are looking for, but He will answer it. When we remain in that place of hope, we can commit to remaining there as well. Putting our whole being into something is total commitment, God is pleased when we totally commit ourselves to Him.
Some people are afraid to hope for things, but with God we never have to be afraid to hope. God is with us always. So as you begin this new year, I encourage you to think about picking a word that you can focus on for the year and then search for it in the Bible, study God’s Word in regards to it. I pray that you have begun your year in God’s Word and have plans to remain there, growing in your faith and walk with God as you study. Have a great day!!!!