It’s that time of year again where I share the word I have chosen for the year. This helps hone my focus and see what God is up too and this year’s word is a big one! God unveiled more than just a word to me this year, He revealed to me what He has been teaching me over the last 2 years and a look at what is to come in 2019. Let me tell you right now I almost yelled out loud in my office at work when God revealed this to me. But to tell this revelation we need to go back to 2017.
2017 was the first year I chose a word of the year. In 2016, a lot had happened in my life and there were some changes that needed to be made. So I chose the word CHANGE to focus on for 2017. This was to help me focus on what things needed to be changed to help my life go better. This wasn’t necessarily looking for changes to come in my life, but what God was working on changing in my life.
For 2018, God brought me my word for the year from these verses:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a NEW thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” - Isaiah 43:18-19a NIV
The word that went with me through 2018 was NEW. God was telling the nation of Israel to look for new things in life. In verses 16 and 17, God said these words:
“This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:” - Isaiah 43:16-17 NIV
God told the people how He had helped them in the past and that He was going to help them going forward, but in a new way. He didn’t want them to dwell on the past and He doesn’t want us to either. What has happened in the past is in the past and we need to look forward to the new things that God has for us. But it is a part of our story so God doesn’t want us to forget the past He just doesn’t want us to dwell there.
So as I got to thinking about my 2019, I was still looking at those 2 verses in Isaiah 43 and then the word came to me as I read verse 19 again. It was almost as if God was telling me “Hey, finish the verse!” Here is verse 19 again with focus on the bold:
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” - Isaiah 43:19 NIV
My word for 2019 rang out from the words in the second half of verse 19. God says that He is making a way for me - for us. God is making a way for us in the places and out of the situations that we least expect Him to. Our wilderness places is where breakthrough lies. If we are willing to embrace the CHANGE that will lead us to the NEW things and the eventual BREAKTHROUGH that God has for us!
BREAKTHROUGH! Breakthrough is my word for 2019. I am already seeing the new things that God has for me. But I had to be willing to except the changes in life and looking for the new things. In this wilderness that I am in right now I am already seeing the cracks.
Breakthrough is coming for me. 2019 will bring great things and a few of those things are already starting.
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