This past year felt like being awake during surgery.
Ha! That was a recent meme I spotted, referring to 2024. I laughed out loud at first, but then my thoughts turned somber. Such a notion wasn’t too far from the truth. I thought it was just me, but grew to discover that tons of people had a rough past year.
Seems we all need to find a worthy word for the coming year, am I right?
It’s January. While many folks declare they cannot say, “Good riddance!” to 2024 fast enough, eager intentions reveal hopeful sentiments. New year. New you. A fresh start. A clean slate. A do-over. A new beginning.
Here we go again.
Ambitious resolutions circle our brains every year around this time, compelling us to vow to change, really change this time, or to alter anything possible to prevent negative events from unfolding in 2025. But, is the new year really a new beginning? It’s a new beginning in the sense that January 1, 2025, indeed marks the first day of a new year in time, but a new beginning? Hmmmm. Seems to me the month of January is simply the next sheet of paper on the calendar. A mere flip of the page. We turn the page from December to January the same way we do from the month of June to July.
I say, rather than change, we need to find a worthy word. And perhaps new perspective.
What if 2024 was not specifically a bad year, but rather, a routine year in the process of our life? A tough year perhaps, but normal. The older I become, the more I’m realizing there’s no such thing as a bad year, but instead challenging seasons which are sprinkled throughout our lives, (with no rhyme or reason), often every year.
Listen—trials, challenges, loss, and suffrage are all part of our journey here on earth. Such events are certain. They are guaranteed. And no one is exempt. But here’s the thing about new resolves for a new year: we cannot will easier circumstances by “doing” anything. Am I saying that setting new goals are worthless? Absolutely not. Goals are an important way to map out your future aspirations. But, how do we incorporate a helpful tool in our lives to make it easier to weather the tough stuff, and, achieve personal growth and success along the way?
By finding a worthy word.
Over the past few years, I finally ditched the idea of declaring resolutions for the new year. Instead, I grabbed hold of one word. I found one powerful word to use for myself as a guiding theme to direct and inspire my thoughts, decisions, and actions. While reflecting on finding a worthy word for the coming year, I was reminded of this verse about God’s word:
The unfolding of your word gives light; it gives understanding to the simple
(Psalm 119:130).
This psalm refers to God’s word, the Bible, as a source of revelation, comprehension, and discernment for us. Once we reflect upon and embrace God’s word in our hearts, we receive understanding and light . . . God’s illumination of His guidance and love for us.
In much the same way, a worthy word of the year provides focus and clarity to what you wish to embody in your life. A worthy word encourages you to reflect on what’s important to you and helps you govern your life differently than the previous year.
Last year, I held onto (correction, I desperately clutched) the word “brave” as my word for 2024. I wanted to gain the courage to fully step into some areas God has been calling me to. I wanted to trust God more than I had before when suffocated by fear. I wanted to be willing to try new things and allow God to be glorified in the process.
To my surprise, what started out as a general ambition to cultivate braveness and be brave, ended up becoming a lifeline God provided to me amid many difficult (sometimes scary) moments this past year. When faced with tasks I feared were impossible, or moments difficult to get through, I found strength and resilience with one whispered word: brave.
Whispering my power word throughout the year did more for me than any resolutions ever could.
My word for 2025 is “pause”. Pause to reflect. Pause to listen. Pause before I react, eat, or buy. Pause to rest. Pause to pray. Pause.
Resolutions often fail. Times get tough, we lose track, our motivation disappears. But, one simple word—carefully chosen—stays with us, and comes to mind as often as we need it.
Do you have a word? It’s not to late to find one!
Here’s how to find a worthy word for yourself:
- Determine what you wish to achieve or change in your life and reflect on words that will remind, encourage, and empower you toward that result.
- Consider a word that will cultivate a mindset which would help you improve.
- Make a list of positive, inspiring, motivating words and pray about them. Stop when you find a worthy word you keep repeating back to yourself.
The word that resonates the most with you is your word of the year.
Your worthy word for the new year becomes a gentle guide for a more efficient and productive way to grow. Finding a worthy word for the coming year is like a promise you make to yourself, for yourself.
Now—say it with me—2024 is out the door, so let’s come alive in 2025 . . . with a powerful, worthy word.
I’d love to hear your 2025 word for the year. Leave a comment and let me know!
4 thoughts on “How to Find a Worthy Word”
Love this – I do it every year. WOTY 2025: Concinnity
(a balanced, pleasing, or suitable arrangement of parts)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
Oh, my goodness! What a great word—and I’ve never heard this word before. Thanks for teaching me this new word. (And I love what it means.)Fabulous!
Fortitude
I love this wonderful word—“courage in pain or adversity”. It’s a solid, strong word to tuck into your heart throughout the year. Thanks for sharing!