Are you one who likes to have a “Word of the year?” Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. Mostly because several years ago I tried hard to pick one out and try to live with it, but there have been times when the Word shows itself to me instead, or the Lord, that is.
This word started showing up back in the middle of this past summer and I jotted it down. I hadn’t necessarily forgotten that word, but it faded after a month, but it’s shown itself several times again this past week or two while reflecting on 2021 and setting some goals for 2022.
Then in church the first Sunday in 2022, one of our pastors taught about asking ourselves a few simple, yet strong, soul questions to ponder at the beginning of a new year (and throughout the year) instead of resolutions that easily crumble.
This one sentence he stated after mentioning how rough the past two to three years have been globally, that this year “…it’s time to get up and keep moving”. He goes on to describe how Paul throughout his ministry in the New Testament kept moving forward.
And those are the words that first stood out to me in late July.
Move forward.
Move on.
Move.
“In Him, we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28
I wanted to see if there was another example in the Bible of God telling someone to move on or move forward and I found myself reading Exodus 14, when Moses had just escaped Egypt with the hundreds of slaves, who were the decedents from Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. The Pharoah and his army were in hot pursuit on chariots to stop the great escape. When the people were running for their lives, there before them was an obstacle. I big obstacle. A sea.
So, the people cry out, “What are we to do now? There’s nowhere except forward, but there’s no way we can all swim over that enormous body of water! I wish we had just stayed put where we were because we wouldn’t be afraid there and our lives threatened.”
God’s confident command to them was, “Move on!” In other words, “stop crying about it, worrying about it, stop being afraid, and in bondage to the life you’ve been living, and pull up, pull out, and move forward!”
And then with His power, God drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The people ran across the dry land, holding babies, the hands of their young children, and tried not to look too long at the miracle of walls of water on their right and left because they couldn’t necessarily take their time with hundreds of chariots and arrows charging behind them. But once Moses, being the last one to cross the dry, sea ground got to the end of the water wall, the Lord instructed the sea to go back in place and crash back down over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.
They took a risk, they persevered, they tried out their faith in this Yahweh that Moses had been promising would rescue them. And they were glad they did. He was right. Ultimately, HE was right. HE told them to trust Him and move forward. Don’t cling tightly to the life you once had. Don’t keep holding onto the past because I have something even better planned for you.
Move on from your past struggles.
Move into this new year and new chapter in your life.
Move forward as God instructs you what to do.
Move your body and exercise.
Move others to cultivate the art of struggling by living with hope in the Lord.
And only God knows what other moves He will make, and I will make, and we will make in 2022. We have been given ample opportunities to rest and be still the past two years, and I have a feeling this year we can intentionally begin removing confusion, chaos, angst, and ashes from our souls and minds, and move forward with holy anticipation to discover the beauty underneath that’s been there all along.
Do you have a word, Bible verse, quote, or goal you’d like to become a healthy habit in 2022?
This year, may you feel the ever-present presence of God in your life and pay attention to the many blessings He gives you, and be transformed more into His image. Amen.