The last few years have led me to write about growing into the next year. I personally look forward to what each new season will bring about. 2023 will be a year of abundance and provision amidst the turmoil. Such abundance will come from knowing who you are in Christ and walking out that identity with each step.
Hope
Hope is the conviction that your future is going to be better than your past. Hebrews is clear that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Continuing to have hope as you walk out the constant change we see in our families, the media and the world, requires a perspective shift. This shift leads you into trust. Trusting the Lord for your future is a big step. It requires laying down our expectations of what our world should look like and having hope of how He will design it. This is where trusting Him with the process of walking into our future requires us to hold His hand.
Abundance
Abundance can mean different things to people. What the Lord is calling us into this next year is abundance in Him. One of my favorite scriptures Matthew 6:33 says that God will provide an abundant life to those who “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Abundance in this sense means a life full of everything you need to sustain yourself in joy and purpose.
As you walk into 2023, how can you sustain yourself in joy and purpose in Him? He’s asking us to because of the times ahead for believers. 2023 will continue to shift us forward into His purposes and will test our faith as more trials come our way. The times ahead are not for the faint at heart, but for those who have the courage to stand up and speak the truth. By seeking first, the kingdom, you will find the abundance you are looking for every day.
Identity
My word for 2023 is hope. Walking further into my identity in Christ has led me into greater hope for the future. I won’t compromise my beliefs for the sake of making others comfortable. This has led me into searching for my identity in Christ and what I stand for as a person. 2023 will continue to grow our roots into His truths, how He is for us, and who He has made us to be. As 2022 draws to a close, we are to look ahead. There was a ton of separating light and darkness, and truth-seeking. Looking ahead gives us hope for what’s to come for families, adventures and provision, and our relationship with the Lord.
My hope and prayer is whatever good was produced for you in 2022 continues into 2023. Hold onto glimmers of hope, press into His abundance and step forward into your identity. He will show you the way to go. Psalms 143:8 “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.”