The Start of Something New | 2020 the year of authority
Day 1. January 1, 2020
That photo isn’t my best work, but it doesn’t matter. I think sometimes we get stuck on perfect and never do the things our hearts are yearning to do. It’s a new year and I want to write. So I will. This photo will mean more to me one day later than it does now, think of it that way. I do like the feel of New Year’s day but I also don’t feel this grand refresh. I feel a continuation of what’s already begun. The process of purifying and sanctifying. Learning and leaning in. God’s Spirit moving.
The verse and promise for this year, 2020, is from Zechariah 3:7—
“If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing there.”
I may have gotten a little greedy because there are a couple more verses I decided to take for this year. Hebrews 2:8 and Zechariah 10:12 — “By My power, I will make my people strong; and by My authority they will go wherever they wish.”
It is not my authority I walk in but Christ’s. Because I’m living in a place of purity and constant dependence, I go to Him daily, I walk in His strength. And if you’ve ever wondered how do people come up with words for their year? Did they just make it up? Partly maybe…or at first. But with God working among us, when You listen for Him, He confirms by backing up said original thought or idea that you thought you may have made up on your own. I was reading in Romans 13 which is about respect for authority and that word, authority, jumped out at me. I thought, “Hmm…could that be my word for 2020? I think yes.” And then I continued on to Zechariah, the last place I left off reading and low and behold, those verses were sitting right there for me to uncover and felt God’s, “You heard right”.
What will authority mean for me this year? I really can’t tell you yet but won’t be great to think back in 364 days and know exactly all God had in store in regards to that word. However, as I wrote the word down, one thing I realized is the word ‘author’ is within this word and wow, that seems like the impossible big dream for this year. To become an author. It's been on every goal list for at least the last two years and yet it somehow keeps getting pushed back. Which is okay. I had more of the story to live and then had to have the discipline to write it all down. There’s a post-it by my bed with the words “my book + it being print/published by year end or winter 2020”. Honestly, don’t remember writing that down and when I reread it, I kind of fought it in my heart because that seemed like too long to wait. But here we are now, the start of 2020 and eleven months from now seems like a reasonable, realistic time that this dream could be reality.
God is in my plans. He always is and with a few exciting things on the calendar, I can see through eyes of faith just how this can play out. But the best part is it never does. There’s always a detour, always a round about I couldn’t have imagined that’s always better, always more challenging and always gives me another opportunity to lean in, learn, grow, stretch, go outside my comfort zone and radically trust Jesus to transform me through the process to the dream that He’ll be faithful to give regardless. Because the dream is only a gift. The work and the intention of my Father’s heart is to make me more like Him, in stature, wisdom, character and to spend time with Him. I hear Him say, “You don’t have to do one thing. Just be with me. It will all get done.”
And it always does.
Now, to walk into 2020 with authority. Ready for all that’s in store!
Some of the big goals, big dreams for 2020:
Publish first book
Run a half marathon
Travel to Uganda and record for The Marriage Project
Distribute Bibles to unreached people groups/mission trip (new one, maybe for next year)
Read another 12 books.
Grow the Marriage Project podcast.
Resolutions:
A habit of praying more in all things
More empathy, less opinion
More listening, asking better questions