My Word of the Year
/At the start of every New Year I think, “I should have a word of the year.” But I always miss the “deadline” and then give up on the idea altogether. But this year, I felt more strongly than ever before that I needed a word. And though it may look like I am late, I’m actually changing the deadline to January 18th, which is my birthday. So “my” year starts today!
The following verses have been a continual comfort and strength to me lately. (If you see words in bold, that emphasis is mine):
Cease striving and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! – Psalm 46:10
Fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today… The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. -Exodus 14:14
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. – Psalm 37:7,8
Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love; He will exult over you with loud singing. – Zephaniah 3:16,17
Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. – Ecclesiastes 4:6
And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.- Isaiah 32:17,18
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! – Isaiah 30:15,16
Do you notice the themes emerging from all of these verses? On one side there are things like: peace, quiet, stillness, trust, security, repentance, faith, silence, rest, thanksgiving, singing, and love. On the other side are fear, striving, weakness, envy, foolishness, destruction, strife, anger, anxiety, toil, wickedness, restlessness, and evil.
These themes are expanded In Isaiah 30. God longed to pour out His grace and strength on behalf of His children if only they would turn to Him in repentance, rest and trust. He offered peace and protection to them, but they would have none of it. They essentially said, “No! We will flee! We will strive! We will fight! We will put our trust in horses and Egyptians and in our own strength!” I’m afraid I can be just like those foolish Israelites.
Have you ever heard this little saying? “Good, better, best; never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is best.” It has been my motto for many years. “Do better, work harder, push yourself…” Because of it, I’ve got an extremely strong work ethic. I’ve got diligence covered. I’m all about responsibility, productivity and excellence. I’m used to BUSY, to full calendars, and squeezing just one more thing into my day. I’m a list-maker and a box-checker.
What I’m not so good at is rest, deep breaths, stillness or silence. Relax? Are you kidding me? There is work to be done! And I live my life anxiously toiling away the minutes. I’m missing grace, and peace and the quiet strength that comes from trust and complete dependence on a God who is at work, even when I’m not.
As I thought and prayed about my word-o’-the-year, I realized that it is more of a negative than a positive. I wanted a positive word! So, I looked up antonyms for my word. Some of the antonyms Merriam Webster listed included: bum, laze, shirk, loaf, dilly-dally, and slack off. Those words horrified me! But even with all of those terrible ideas, I couldn’t shake the thought that I had landed on my word. I’ve settled on “CEASE STRIVING” as my word(s) of the year. And though it is actually two words, it is the refrain I need to remind myself every morning when I wake up.
I need to tell myself to cease striving when I am seeking validation from my accomplishments. I need to rest in God’s power, when I feel stressed about things that are out of my control. When I feel my jaw clenching, and my muscles tensing, I need to take a deep breath and remember to cease striving. When I am busily making lists, I need to rest in the fact that God will be exalted in the earth whether or not I check every box. When I’m stressing over imaginary deadlines and beating myself up over unfinished tasks, I need to cease striving.
As I’ve reminded myself of these truths, I’ve experienced small moments of freedom. I’ve discovered that rest is possible, and I am not nearly as significant as I think I am. I am ready for a year of enjoying God’s power and presence which are here for me because of His grace, and not my performance. He loves me. He calls me friend, child, daughter. And because of that I can cease striving. I pray the same for you today.