Have you ever heard of people getting a single word at the beginning of the year that is meant to be partly a guide and partly a prophesy? I didn’t begin the year intending to use this method, but I felt an internal prompting a few days ago, so decided to ask God if he had a word for me this year. And as God often does, he downloaded what might be thought of as a packet: an impression with a bundle of feelings and thoughts associated with it. Once the packet arrives, I have to do internal work to unpack it, so I can make sense of it, put words to it, and for that matter, so I can share it with others.
After processing it, I decided the best word to describe what God was saying to me for 2022 is “freshness”. I’m pretty sure that’s not very catchy, but after trying many, many other possibilities, that’s what seemed to resonate best.
One of the reasons for sharing my word is that others might also identify with the word and benefit from what I have understood so far — and, to the extent that it is prophetic for me, it might also be prophetic for others and for maybe even the Church. It also helps me share with others who I am as a person and what the Lord might be doing with me over the next year.
I first thought the word was “breakthrough”. And there is a real sense of breakthrough that is part of what God is saying, but breakthrough as a term speaks to me of gaining insight or having an obstacle to overcome, and that didn’t feel like it fit perfectly. My vision of “freshness” is like the arrival of Spring. Or like the sun rising and shining brightly after days of overcast and storm. It is like the warmth after a long, cold winter. It is even an aroma of freshness after a stifling staleness. Freshness. That’s what is coming.
I asked the Lord for a verse to go with this word. I got Isaiah 60:1, which in the NIV says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” At a very deep level, this is in harmony with what I received from the Lord. The freshness comes by an act of God. “Your light has come… The glory of the Lord rises upon you.” To that extent, it is not something I have to do, it is something I wait expectantly for. But I am not without a part to play, because I am called to respond to this freshness of the Lord: I have to arise and shine.
My gut impression is that when the freshness arrives, it will feel very difficult not to arise and shine. The freshness is invigorating. It is something that brings great joy. It will make me want to shout and to share it with everyone.
Other words that I considered — which means they are close synonyms — include renaissance, renewal, revival, sparkle, vigor, glow, refreshing, shining, bloom, Spring.
In the end, freshness is the best fit, and I can’t wait!