On January 1st, a dear friend texted a Happy New Year’s wish and shared that God gave her the word ‘Fly’ for 2022.  I was not surprised!  How apt for this woman who walks so vibrantly with God. She further encouraged me to listen for His word for me this year, so that I, too, could spread my wings and fly.  

I’ve never put much stock in claiming ‘One Word’ to define an entire year.  However, during a particularly challenging year, I did choose the word “Resolute.”  I knew I needed much resolve and determination to get through the hurdles I was facing that year.  In 2021, I did not choose a word, but rather a word chose me.  No doubt, we can all relate to the drain of covid struggles and restrictions for a second year in a row.  Yet, aside from the pandemic, have you found yourself wrestling with doubts, uncertainties, and questions that surface in the swirl of life?  I certainly have.  In the midst of these concerns, the need for deeper levels of “Trust” have surfaced repeatedly.  As a result, greater trust in God became my mantra in 2021.

Yet, my friend’s text caught me a little off guard.  When I’ve considered choosing a word in the past, it stemmed from a spiritual need I wished to be filled.  Desiring to be resolute in faith or trust more deeply, were ways to grow spiritually.  Not a bad thing. However, could I change my perspective to believe God has a word to give me for spiritual guidance and release in the next twelve months?  Not to conjure up a purposeful word for myself, but instead, to receive a Holy Spirit guided theme as a gift from Him to me.  And so, I dared to pray and ask God if He indeed had a specific word to reveal to me.  I honestly did not expect a speedy reply.            

The following morning, I woke with the Crowder song, “How He Loves” running through my mind, a song that echoes the absolute assurance of the Lord’s love for us.  God often speaks to me through music.  When I wake with a song playing in my head, I have learned to receive it as an encouragement from God, a way that He is singing over me (Zephaniah 3:17).  Could this song be His answer to my prayer?  Can I believe in the depth of God’s love for me, that He is jealous for my heart, that His mercy for me weighs deep, that even my afflictions are lovingly eclipsed by His glory?!! 

And then it hit me. God’s word gift to me is His love in all its power and perfection.  It is not my need to strive to love Him and others better, though I certainly desire to grow in both. Rather, He is speaking of my need to believe with absolute assurance in the steadfastness of His love for me right in the middle of life’s shadows and struggles and unknowns. 

When we feel buffeted and weakened by storms in life, are we able to look deep into who God is and find solace in His steadfast love?  When weak, can we find strength in the reality that His love is powerful and unchanging?  When broken with pain, are we able to remind ourselves that His love is an unshakable and sure promise to us? 

God Himself declared truth about His nature by saying, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, [is] slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands…” (Exodus 34:6-7).  He further affirmed His irrevocable love for us through various prophets.  “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3).  “I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…” (Isaiah 49:15b-16).  “You are precious and honored in my sight…I love you” (Isaiah 43:3). “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail….so great is His unfailing love” (Lamentations 3:22 & 32b).  Each one a prophetic promise.

All Scripture echoes affirmations of God’s unfailing love.  God Himself is love.  His greatest love proof is in sending His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (John 4:10).  Paul declared that absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:38-9).  He further prays that we may “have power…. to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love…” (Ephesians 3:18-19).

So, in light of all these Scriptural absolutes, how do we get to the place of resting in the unfailing, immeasurable love of God when our world is rocked with suffering and struggles, with questions and doubts?  In the weeks since I received the word-gift from God, I have realized my need to acknowledge the rich power and beauty of His love for what it truly is.  This is more than a mere lifting of my eyes.  It is a conscious choosing to push through the tangles of earthly struggle and acknowledge God’s love as absolute, the bedrock of my faith.  I envision myself pushing aside the brokenness of life and the lies of the enemy to reveal the existence of the strong, unfaltering love of God.  For this is who He says He is.  “Know that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love….” (Deuteronomy 7:9).

Greater than all the uncertainties and unknowns this coming year may hold, we are undergirded by God’s unshakeable and relentless love for us.  Even at our weakest, we can stand with confidence and trust that His love will hold and carry us.  For when we sincerely trust that His unchangeable love is greater than the chaos and noise of life, we will find deep comfort and faith for every situation.  For when “we know and rely on the love God has for us, [that] God IS love” (I John 4:16), our faith in Him is bolstered and made secure. Then we, too, will find we can spread our wings and fly with Him into each day of the new year.