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PROGRAM D-8007

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution for 2018? If so, you may have already broken it. As a rule, those resolutions don’t last very long. What I’m suggesting is, rather than a resolution, you just need a word—one word which you will focus on all year. One word that says what you want God to do for you this year. One word which indicates an attitude and a commitment you’re willing to take on with God’s help.

From the book, My One Word, here is an example of a word that someone chose:

My word for the year is PAUSE. In my busy life there are so many times I need to pause. Pause to remember these days, for they will fly by so quickly. Pause to say yes. . . and no. Pause to give thanks. Pause before I speak in anger, judgment, or criticism. Pause to say I’m sorry. Pause to dwell on God’s goodness and mercy.

What a great word to choose for 2018. Do you see how many areas of your life could be dramatically affected if you focused on the word pause for one year? To focus on your one word simply means that you are going to pray about it regularly—daily—and seek God’s power to effect the changes he wants to make in your life through that word. Then you will do a search in the Bible for passages that relate to your one word.

For example, if pause were your word, some verses you might choose are the following:

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. Psalm 116:7

I would recommend that after you choose your one word, begin a journal of how God is using that one word in your life. Keep track of all the verses that come to you throughout the year as a reminder of what that one word means for your life. If you seriously commit to focusing on that one word—praying it into your life, and asking God to empower you to make it a reality in your life—you will be amazed at how that one word will truly change your life.