I can't fully put into words how much God has been doing in my life in regards to my word from last year, "YIELD". The more I have yielded, surrendered, to the will of God and the work of His Holy Spirit, the more I have yielded a harvest of peace within. For that reason, I thought of just keeping my word from 2018 as my word for this new year. But, God had other ideas. He spoke to me that yielding to Him and His will, ways, and word will be something that I will need to focus on daily for the rest of my life. At the same time He began to speak to me in various ways about the word He has for me in 2019.
It began in the fall. One day as I was listening to Handel's Messiah and puttering around the house, "Comfort ye, Comfort ye my people" began to play. God dropped into my heart that the word "comfort" was to be my work for 2019. I did not yield to His voice, because of two concerns. First of all, comfort is something you need when you are mourning, and after the loss of a niece and a nephew, a spiritual mentor and my husband's boyhood pastor and other hurtful losses in 2018, I was not going to sign up for any more mourning! The second, was the connotation of comfort being living in a rut, not taking steps of faith, staying in my comfort zone. So, instead of embracing what God was saying, I began to search for other "better" words - peace, hold fast, love. Of course, because I wasn't yielding to God, I had no peace about choosing another word. Then, on the Sunday before Christmas, a friend from church gave me a handmade journal. On the first page she had written this verse. Isaiah 51:3 " For the Lord will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song or instrument of praise." With that, God gave me a direct confirmation that I was to embrace and yield to what He had been showing me, that comfort was, indeed, my word for 2019. He also gave me insight into the meaning. Comfort is found as I yield and surrender to God's processes of rebuilding the broken, devastated, decayed and ruined places within. God is the Repairer of the Breach, the One Who takes all of our bent, twisted, broken parts and restores them into wholeness and realigns them with His heart, purpose and plan. God's comfort is found as I continue to yield, surrender, to His continued rebuilding processes in my life. I am amazed at how every year God builds upon the foundation of the focus of the previous year.
Here are the words from previous years, beginning in 2011 when I first heard of the concept of a word focus for the year.
2011- HOPE
2012- DELIGHT
2013 -TRUST
2014- JOY
2015- ENDURANCE
2016- LISTEN
2017- ABIDE
2018- YIELD
AND NOW THIS YEAR
still following,
Elizabeth, it is so true that our mind immediately goes to receiving comfort in times of loss. But as I saw your word "Comfort", the first thought which came to me was of a place of soothing, of freedom from pain, a place where we are free to release and just be. Like comfort food - it is what brings us consolation and a sense of well-being. I pray this will be the year of comfort for you. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joanne! I love this!
DeleteElizabeth, it sounds like our minds think a lot like! (INFJs) I've avoided certain words too. :)
ReplyDeleteLove this post! Comfort--what a comfortable word. It's a good word to lean into.
As you may know, my word for 2019 is Heart.
I love all that your word entails! May 2019 be your best yet!
DeleteHow wonderful, Elizabeth, that He has spoken to your heart in this way. He wishes to comfort, even as He is rebuilding and restoring what has been broken. No doubt He will use you to comfort many in His name this year! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteYou are such a blessing to me, June! Thank you for your encouragement!
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