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But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. Job 23:10

In the beginning of 2016, I decided to do something different. Besides having a small list of new year resolutions, I decided to have a “Word of the Year.” 

It means, all through the year I will focus on learning, meditating, working on just ONE concept. This is the one thing that I believe God wants me to learn.

And here is my one word–JOY.

So, how did I come up with this word? 

A sense of lacking. Last year I went through some challenging times. I was unprepared. It caught me by surprise. During this process, I spent a lot of time worrying. The lack of joy in my heart surprised me.

A sense of godly desire. On the other hand, when I read the Bible, I found so many bible passages that encourage me to trust God and be joyful even in difficult times. Deep down in my heart, I want to experience God in a deeper way. Perhaps, God is using the circumstances to help me learn the lesson that I need so badly. And, the most important thing is, I do want to learn it. 

A sense of godly inspiration. Then, as I look around, there are plenty of people who are truly exhibiting JOY in situations far worse than mine. How did they do it? They are such an inspiration to me, and I want to be like them. There is another level of maturity that I want to attain.

A sense of godly focus. Finally, I must admit that I am no longer 25 years old. (OK, I am 26.) My experience tells me that I can’t multitask. (In fact, I heard that multitasking is a myth.) When I am controlled my FOMO (fear of missing out), I will be working on so many priorities that none is the real priority. But Now, I will be very happy if I can see myself improving in one single area, an area that I deem very important and valuable.

So, how about you? If you were to pick one word for your year, what will it be? Try to pick something that you lack, something that is valuable to you, something that will bring significant improvement to your life, and something that you think God wants you to learn. Here are some examples: intentional, truthful, motivation, purpose, stewardship, simplicity, boundary, patience, discipline, gracious, generous, …