Faith {One Word 2016}
"You have listened to fears, child. Come, let Me breathe on you. Forget them. Are you brave again?"
-C.S. Lewis
I confess I already made a mistake this morning as I sat down.
January 1st, 2015
I smiled to myself and changed that last number with a note of shock.
I'll be honest. I didn't have much time to choose my word for 2016. But as I ran down the hill from my house and walked up the subsequent streets three days ago, the evening wind whipped into night air and the worship music in my ears eased into my mind a focus on the days ahead combined with the days behind. Have you ever experienced that feeling where you walk the same walk multiple times, and small things change but until you open your eyes and breathe in and look for the differences you realize the lack or additions of some things? I've lived in the same home for eight years now- longer than any other home I've ever been in. And this year that's changing for sure. I'm remembering to be more and more intentional. Because that house down on the curb, the one we caroled for for years? The one we didn't get to go to this year? It's run down. Empty. I passed different streets and recognized a new emptiness. My heart ached for the faces behind the walls. Years merged into months, and I questioned whether "that" was two years ago or three?
There's going to be a lot of unknowns this year.
This is my sixth year choosing a word to look for.
2011 was be.
2013 was more. I always find these words in my journal, and I'm always reminded of how He brought more into my life:
"I forget He is the author and perfecter; and that what He wills happens, whether it seems like it will or no. He want me to live a life of meaning, one that can only be achieved by remembering that there is so much more to God that I don't understand. And the rationale that I have is terrible when in fact, I have the love and grace of a Father who wants to bless His children with more beyond our wildest dreams. So goodbye to the old me of 2012 and past years, who dreamed big, but not big enough, scarcely hoping that would change things.
This is the G-d who will not only meet our expectations and prayers, but will bring them to light in every possible, wild, crazy, passionate, wonderful way. I am ready to do so much more for His kingdom, and live His life for me every step of the way."
2014 was abandon.
2015 was arise as based on Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise. I laugh as I sit here and write this. Because before I even understood what an impact that word would have on my little heart. That verse. Everything. I received a callback phone call from AMTC two weeks after I picked that word and cried to my new hub leader about what arise meant to me and how "strange" it was that the Lord put arise specifically on my heart. And thus I embarked on an adventure that woke me up, called me out. Arise. It's seriously amazing how I was called out of my comfort zone.
"I have plans for this year. Hopes. Dreams, wishes too, maybe. Maybe sometimes I imagine the impossible, but then I remember how many times He's proven Himself the God of that very word and a smile breaks across my face. How will I ever truly know how great, how strong, how big my Father's arms are...unless I take the first step He's beckoned me to? How can I not watch that story unfold in all of its wonder and uncertainty?
Let me mull over that. Let me chew on that. Let me fall open, become."
But this year?
2016 is faith. It's simple. But it's been confirmed more than once the last few days. The wind whistled around my ears as suddenly my worship music became all about trust and faith in God and in surrender.
Life's more than about playing small. We were made for more than that. This year is again more about calling me out of my comfort. It's so much easier to stay put, but this is the year I know timing is already right. Because you see... God is an on-time God.
He's never early or late. He's our provider, and He will come through. Always faithful. And I can't experience His full grace as that provider unless I live with that abandon and trust that comes along with the faith it takes to reach out and take hold of the goodness of God.
2016 is going to be a year of growth, stretching, and walking out of the open doors of my home with faith. I looked up synonyms for faith and laughed as I saw the other words- among them hope. Trust. Confidence. Dependence. Assurance. Certainty.
Ah. Living with faith is the confidence, the certainty that He won't let me fall. Dependence on God that He'll carry me regardless of what risks may meet the eye. And the trust that I can walk on water if I look only in His eyes. I cannot fathom the way last year's word and this year's word overlap, and yet they are just another piece in this puzzle that I look back upon and realize how He's led me here.
Oh faith.
A mustardseed of you, and because of my God I can move mountains.
