Dear Heart,
It’s the start of 2026. Like many people, I used to make New Year’s resolutions, but I often didn’t keep them. A few years ago, I heard about choosing a word for the year, a word to live by and grow into. I haven’t tried that yet. Still, I feel the Lord is showing me some things to focus on this year, and that’s walking in love. To learn more about His love and walk in it in every area of my life. And to surrender more of myself to Him.
Setting goals and having a vision can guide what we do, as we see in Habakkuk 2:2
And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by. (AMPC)
But the most important thing is to let the Holy Spirit guide our goals and visions. Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us? I know some people spend the beginning of January, or even the months before, asking God for direction for the new year.
There are also times when we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. In those seasons, we take each day as it comes and trust God for the next step.
Sometimes it’s helpful to have clear goals for tomorrow, or even for the months and years ahead. Other times, we need to take life one day at a time and trust God with each step.
Right now, I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I began living one day at a time in 2023, and eventually, I learned what my next step was. But as I write this, I still don’t know what comes next.
When we’re not sure about our next step, it can help to look back and see if we’ve done the last thing God asked us to do. We can also ask the Holy Spirit if we’ve missed something or left something unfinished. Maybe God is asking us to do something we don’t want to, and we’ve ignored it without noticing.
When everything feels quiet, it doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit has stopped speaking. Often, we’re just too distracted to listen. We need to slow down and pay attention. Sometimes we get anxious when we think we’re not hearing anything, or we let fear take over because we want to stay in control.
This is a time to be still, calm our minds, bodies, and souls, and connect with the Holy Spirit. He is always speaking; we are the ones who block His voice. The idea of mountain tops and valley lows is just a saying in the religious circle. The Bible teaches that there are only times when we walk in obedience and times when we do not.
The beauty is that when we find we have made a mistake, the Lord’s grace always abounds, and His loving forgiveness covers us. We walk day by day in His new mercies.
A life that chooses to live at the altar of His heart in a surrendering lifestyle is pleasing to Him and surpasses any resolutions we can come up with. May we always keep this at the forefront of our minds as we make decisions, set goals, and shape our visions.
May we keep our hearts buried deep in the Heart of our loving Heavenly Father, living for Him daily. Growing closer to His heart. Whether we are setting up a vision board, making one- to five-year plans, or just living in a season of one day at a time. May it be through a surrendered life pursuing after His heart this year.
♥♥♥
