A bloggy friend recently posted with a great idea - to share a word and a verse for 2012. I knew instantly what my verse would be. I have been studying in 2 Timothy and one verse has continued to jump out to me and resound with my soul:
It took me a while to think of how to sum up how God is challenging me to grow in just one word from this verse, but I think I have it figured out.
BOLDNESS
For the past few months, this has been on my heart. As I have been praying about some opportunities to serve and asking God to show me what He wants me doing, I have struggled with fearfulness, anxiety, a feeling that I am not adequate and will not be able to do what He asks. But this verse just spoke to me so loudly. He has not given me a spirit of timidity or cowardice. These fears are not from Him. No, He has given me a spirit of power. As I studied further I learned that this comes from a root word with a basic meaning of being capable, able, the opposite of incapable or incompetent.
Wow.
God has given me what I need to serve Him. I do not need to live in fear of doing what He asks. I just need to do it! I need to be bold, confident in Him, filled with courage because of who He is.
So that's my word this year: boldness. I pray that the Lord would help me to understand more fully who He is, what He desires for me, and that He would enable me to let go of my fears and serve Him with abandon.
If you are interested, I would encourage you to consider what your word and verse might be for 2012, and hop over to Much Ado to link up!
2 comments:
Love your word and verse for this year! I love that verse, I often find myself quoting it to the students we work with, such a great and challenging verse. Praying that God will give you "Boldness" as you enter 2012. Thanks for taking part in the link up. It is so encouraging reading other people's entries.
I found your link on "Much Ado"'s blog and found it interesting that we are similar in our word of the year! I chose the word Fearless, however, I chose this word for a lot of the same reasons you chose "boldness". May 2012 bring you closer to God and at a new level of Boldness!
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