I said in my last post that my “theme” for the year would be God’s Promises, that I would take this year to study and learn all I can about God’s promises that I can stand on today. As I began my study I recognized a word emerging from this: BELIEVE.

For me, God is saying: “It’s not enough for you to know and understand my promises, I want you to BELIEVE them, and BELIEVE they are for you!”

So my theme will not change, but I have decided my one word for 2013 is BELIEVE.

It’s funny, when I first started thinking about what my “one word” would be I thought of persevere. There are going to be alot of things that I will need to persevere through this year. But for some reason persevere didn’t set well with me. Honestly, it kind of felt like it was carrying a negative connotation and I didn’t want that. However, it was this line of thinking that led me to God’s Promises, that if I am to persevere in life, in ALL things, I need to know God’s promises and cling to those promises to get me through the tough spots.

Believe has a different connotation to me. For me, believe sounds hopeful and optimistic, as if to believe in and hope for something better, grander, far beyond what I could ask or imagine.

One of my life verses comes at the end of Ephesians chapter 3, specifically verse 20, but the context of the text is this:

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[c] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

This is what I want for this new year, to lay a foundation built upon this prayer, that according to the RICHES of my heavenly Father’s GLORY, that he may grant my family and me to be STRENGTHENED with POWER through his Spirit who lives within us, that we would not just allow but WELCOME Christ to dwell in our hearts through FAITH, that we would be ROOTED and GROUNDED in LOVE, and have STRENGTH to comprehend the BREADTH and LENGTH and HEIGHT and DEPTH of Christ’s LOVE — a love that SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE — resulting in being filled with the FULLNESS of God.

FOR REAL??? This is one of the many wonderful and glorious things God wants for his children. Do I BELIEVE THAT? Do I REALLY?? I want to. And that is what this one word is all about for me. Believing God. Believing his promises. Living and acting and reacting like I believe his promises. No matter what comes my way. Because as is stated in verse 19… Christ’s love surpasses knowledge. So although I wont understand how some of the hard things we experience in life are actually “loving;” I can trust God and believe that he is ABLE to do ABUNDANTLY more than all we could ASK or IMAGINE… BY THE POWER OF GOD AT WORK WITHIN US! God wants to use us to bring this “abundantly more” into being. How cool is that?!

What will all this look like for my family and me this year? I have NO idea. And at times I am certain that things could look “bad” according to the worlds standards. John 16:33 records a promise Jesus made to his disciples, “In this world you will have trouble! But TAKE HEART, I have overcome the world!”

Please pray that I will trust in that love of Christ that surpasses knowledge and that I will believe God and all his wonderful promises that he will lead me to discover as I spend my year identifying, understanding, and BELIEVING God!

Love of CAPS in this blog. I am EXCITED! Its going to be a good year.