My Word for 2013
The scriptures thoroughly address keeping one's word. Jesus himself chides the Pharisees in Matthew 5:33-38, saying "let your 'yes' be yes and 'no' be no. Solomon said it is better not to vow than to break one's vow (Ecclesiastes 5:5). And James reminds us that we don't know whether we have tomorrow, so we should be careful how we plan for the future but instead say, "if it is the Lord's will" (James 4:14-17).
Keeping those principles in mind, I have a tentative list of resolutions, things I would like to accomplish in 2013, but my word for the year surpasses them all:
In 2013, I will depend upon the Lord.
The ESV doesn't use the phrase "depend" to refer to depending on the Lord. But some translations use "depend on" where the ESV and NIV use "commit." When I did a word study on "commit," as it is used in the following verses, God showed me what He meant when He asked me to depend on Him this year (and always).
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. (Psalm 37:5) Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. (Proverbs 16:3)
(Note: I have written about Proverbs 16:3 before) The word is gālal, and it's a common one, with lots of different meanings (some of them stinky). But the most common element of the definition is roll, as in, to roll care or responsibility onto the Lord. Oh. Yes, Lord. As the cares and responsibilities come rolling toward me, I want to roll them right on to the Lord. I love that it requires action - I have to transfer the care from myself to my King - but it doesn't require a work of my will, like the English word commit sort of implies. I can't do it of my own will anyway. Do you do a yearly word? 2011: Sustained 2012: Yes, Yes and Yes (unofficial, it seems)