I’ve always marveled at “Word of the Year” people. How do you decide on a word? Do you choose one for yourself, what you want to characterize or motivate the year ahead? Does God put a word on your heart? Does it come directly from Him into your mind? Does He reveal it in something you read? Do you make a list of inspirational words and then choose one? Trust. Believe. Impact. Adventure. Balance. Commitment. Focus.

So you have your word. What then? Do you post it where you can look at it every day? Do you meditate on your word? Do you order your life after it? Does it inspire your goals or your to-do list?

I had a “Word of the Year” a few years ago, but that’s all that it was. A word. I put it in the front of my journal for that year and never looked at it again. By February, I couldn’t even remember what my word was.

I want this year to be different. Or maybe I just want to do the “in” thing. For whatever reason, I sat down with my Bible and my journal a few days ago, and I asked God for a word for 2024.

The first thing that came to my mind was Psalm 37, so I turned there in my Bible, fully expecting for the word “delight” to become my word. I’ve studied Psalm 37:4 pretty extensively, even in Hebrew, the original language, and I can tell you exactly what the word “delight” means in that verse. And it’s a good word! It would make a great “Word of the Year.” But that’s another blog post.

For me, the problem was that it was too familiar. If I went with “delight” as my word, I would always wonder if that was really God’s word for me, or if I simply chose it myself. I wanted something new. Something I would not have thought of by myself.

If you are a student of the Bible, you know that God’s Word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). It never changes, and yet God uses it to speak in different ways. You may read a passage ten times or a hundred times and each time get something completely new from it.

I read Psalm 37 in its entirety. Then I read it again. Both times I stopped in my tracks, not in the familiar verse 4, but just before it, in verse 3.

“Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.” (italics mine)

Psalm 37:3, EngLISH STANDARD VERSION

That last phrase struck me. Befriend faithfulness. How does one befriend faithfulness?

Befriend—to make friends or become friendly with.

Faithfulness—the fact or quality of being true to one’s word or commitments, as to what one has pledged to do, professes to believe, etc. (Definitions from Dictionary.com)

Befriend faithfulness. Make friends with being true to my commitments. Now that adds an extra dimension to my planning and goal-setting! (Yes, I’m one of those people.) It means that I don’t write goals and never look at them again. It means that I take my goals more seriously rather than setting the same general goals (Exercise more, eat better, read more books, write more, etc.) each year , and not only that, but I ENJOY keeping them, just as I enjoy my friends! I better consider carefully the goals that I set, the plans that I make.

For me, faithfulness means being true to who I am. It means being committed to what God calls me to do. It means investing more in relationships. It means taking better care of my body. It means finishing what I start (unless it’s something I shouldn’t have started in the first place!). It means growing as Jesus did—in wisdom (intellectually), in stature (physically), in favor with God (spiritually) and in favor with man (socially). (See Luke 2:52.) I want to be friends with faithfulness!

So in 2024 I have not a word, but a phrase. Befriend faithfulness. Whenever you and I cross paths, feel free to ask me how I’m doing with my new friendship!

What about you? Do you have a “Word of the Year?” How did you come by it? How does it motivate or inspire you? What would it look like for you to “befriend faithfulness?”