2020 Word of the Year | Choosing Your Word
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Part 1: Why have a word of the year and my word for 2019
After hearing a talk at church on having a Word of the Year in 2019, I decided to see if God would give me a word, too!
Then, a friend recommended this book called: My One Word by Mike Ashcraft, which gave me a little more insight and testimonials on the power of having a word of the year.
After praying for about two weeks for God to give me a word, my word for 2019 was FAITH.
And I needed a lot of faith last year. I was going through a rough patch where I felt like a failure.
I didn’t see beyond the difficulties that kept coming up.
Things weren’t getting better.
Rejected from schools. No job would hire me despite being qualified. Nothing was working out.
[except this faith-based blog :)]
I felt God was distant, but I didn’t want to let go of Him, if that makes sense.
After experiencing so much failure, I had two options.
I could be depressed about it and pity myself, or have faith that God would eventually open doors.
Part 2: My 2019 word of the year was a test of faith
And practically everything that happened to me in 2019 was a test for my faith to grow.
When I was doing things to just do things so I wouldn’t waste time in life, they wouldn’t work out:
Applying to schools that weren’t right; Applying to jobs that I knew I could do, but weren’t ideal and I knew I wouldn’t be happy.
And when I finally took a step back, allowed God to dictate my steps, had faith in what He wanted to do instead of me doing, I felt I was in cruise control. I felt significantly more relaxed and joyful. It was peaceful!
I felt God was telling me to slow down and enjoy the moment, and the pace that my life was going.
Eventually, the right program at school came along. I applied and was accepted.
Then, an awesome job came along which was perfect for what I want to do in the future. I’ve learned so much, and I wish I had this job years ago!
[The crazy thing is I applied to this job during that time that nothing was working out for me. I didn’t get it then, but I got it when God opened the doors!]
When I decided to have faith and to trust God, things happened smoothly. Way better than if I were in control.
The timing was perfect with everything because it matched up with my fiancé’s schedule, too. So we are at a similar pace now. This is such a big help for us, and we are so thankful that God guided us to this.
Part 3: It’s not a prophetic word
Based on my understanding of a prophetic word, I don’t believe that the word of the year is a prophetic word for my life or a personal prophesy.
This word is personal, between God and I.
In general, I am leery of prophetic words and I use these scriptures to support my stance on this:
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5
This word of the year is given to me after much prayer for my spiritual growth this year. God speaks to us directly and I don’t think anyone has to give us a prophetic word in order to hear from God.
Also, this word has nothing to do with anyone except me. And your God-given word has nothing to do with anyone except you. Again, it is personal.
Part 4: My 2020 word of the year and How to choose your word
My 2020 word of the year is actually not a word like last year’s, but God’s Word.
Let me explain…
It’s a bible verse, specifically Titus 2:12, NKJV which says:
“teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,” Titus 2:12, NKJV
Here it is a bit simplified:
“It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,” Titus 2:12, NIV
I prayed and prayed, and I spent time reading God’s Word and this one impressed me the most. I knew this was it.
You might be thinking that this isn’t a simple ‘word’ of the year and maybe I heard wrong from God.
But this was what I understood from God as something He wanted me to focus on for 2020.
I made up my mind towards the end of 2019 to do my best to be as transparent as possible which, for me, meant living an honest and dedicated life to God. No more cutting corners, skimping on God’s time, being afraid of sharing God’s Word, white lies, “small’ sins, etc.
And I think this verse is very powerful, especially with how easily influenced we can be in this world.
For instance, everything distracts us. We can’t sit still long enough to focus on a sermon. If it isn’t interesting to us or if we don’t think it applies to us, we tune out. It can be all about us sometimes. We may volunteer or do service work because we might get something out of it, instead of simply to love on our neighbors. We go for pleasures instead of what the Bible says is right.
As Christians we are called to stand out and be different as representatives of God in this world. We need to exemplify Jesus and live with His commandments in our hearts.
See the following bible verses on that:
Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 2:9, Philippians 2:15, Proverbs 1:15, Revelation 7:9
Dear friends,
I encourage you to pray. Ask God to give you a word of the year for 2020 of what He needs to you to work on, improve, or focus on. Maybe it is a word that will prepare you for what’s coming in your life.
And don’t forget to read God’s word. The closer you are to God, the easier it is to discern His voice.
Write to me…
Let me know in the comments if you have a 2020 word of the year, or any thoughts you have on my message. Let me know if you agree or disagree with anything I’ve written above! I’d love to hear from you!

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Check out other posts here:
What is your view of God? Is He oppressive or not?
Getting through the hard times in life
Don’t forget to share with a friend. Who knows…they may need this encouragement today!
Choosing a word for the year is always tough for me. I think God stretched me so much in the past when i have chosen a word, and i have been scared to choose another ever since. This year, thiugh, after much prayer I did choose A word. May God bless your jouRney in 2020.
I was scared of “faith” last year — my thoughts were: “I wonder what I will have to go through to challenge my faith/grow my faith, but I remembered that it was God giving me the word so I had nothing to fear. I can’t wait to see what this Word brings and for future words of the year! God bless your journey now and always!
Hi. I just came across your blog. I love the name you chose, flawed and faithful. I just started my own word before reading your blog. My word is family. My sister, my brother, my mom and my inlaws have lost touch with each other over the years and i would like to see us.become closer. This word came to me as i was going through all my physical pictures for scrapbooking one day. Looking back at all the memories of us together made me meloncholy. I started remembering all the great times we had and enjoyed together. Oh there were many bad times also. Thats how we drifted apart. The bad times and how we let sin cause us to distance ourselves. I would like to pray this year for reconciliation and forgiveness of each other. And try, although I know it will take time and our lords strength to work on this.
Hi there! Thank you for taking the time to read it and for loving my blog name! I’m thankful to hear that because I spent weeks praying for it and God answered! 🙂
I love your word of the year. It is God’s will that our families be united and live joyfully together because that is what we will be doing in heaven, too! I thought of this bible verse for you: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 5:14 NKJV.
Keep that in mind throughout the year! Don’t lose faith in praying for your family. Don’t get discouraged. You are praying for something that is in His will. God hears you and is/will be answering.
I will add you+your family to my prayer list. Please keep me updated on how things go! God bless you ALL!
Your sister in Christ,
Lily