In November, sitting in church, the Lord showed me my "Word" focus for 2025. I can't explain exactly how I knew it was the one....except to say that as I looked on the overhead screen in the front of church and I read along silently as the pastor read the scripture it just made sense to me. I had a warm, fuzzy feeling inside and a deep sigh in my spirit of abiding Peace that does not come from anything I choose to think or hear or read but only from God. This is one of the things I've learned along the way. When you know....you know. When it lines up with scripture you can trust it. When it is useful for the building up of the body of Christ and not the tearing down.....well then you know who is guiding and directing. You just know.
Psalm 100.....my Word for 2025. Yep. the whole thing. Well....its only 5 actual versus but if you break it into thoughts or phrases it is 12. 12 phrases for the 12 months of the year, beginning today, January 1. Go figure.
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Psalm 100
For January the focus will be to shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
I have done some shouting to the Lord lately, but it has been more of a cry for help, a begging for truth to set the captives free, a growling in anger even....He's a pretty big God. He can handle all of it. But His desire for me, and his call for me in January is to learn to shout with joy to the Lord. It may take 31 days to unpack just this much...I hope it does. I hope he has so many things to teach me and show me and reveal as I learn to shout with joy to the Lord, and to learn all the ways the earth will do the same.
