I never officially declared a word for 2024, but “resonance” has been on my mind a lot ever since the beginning of January when my good friend, Bridget, had posted about her word and I commented that that seemed to be my option. I think God has just made it my word, which is more than okay!

I had stated that this word relates to clarity, connection, depth and strength that can only be found in God. That’s been a longing in me for a while now, just a deeper connection to God and being more intentional with not just saying I’m in the Word but how I spend that time reading and reflecting to soak it up.

Resonance as defined in a Google search (thanks, Oxford) it means the quality in a sound of being deep, full, and reverberating.

We’re almost a full two months into the year and so far, I’ve seen God showing me things through regularly reading and through my devotional I’ve been working through. His word is reverberating through my life in different ways. 🙂

I have two recent examples to share. The first being a coworker and friend providing me with a Scripture when I was talking about my lack of confidence and how I’m working on that this year. She sent me Hebrews 10:35-36. In this, it’s not talking about my confidence in myself – we should all have confidence, but in what we put that confidence matters. Depending on ourselves isn’t what we’re called to do. Our hope and confidence in this life we’ve been gifted is to depend on God. For me, this helped me to remember that my confidence is something I should work on, but that growing closer to God and finding that kind of confidence is where I’ll be able to be worked on with His strength and not mine.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Hebrews 10:35-36

But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

My other example is when I was working on a devotional reading in Isaiah and had to flip to chapter 62, the below were my notes. At the top right (page 939 of my Bible) I had a note that reads “God’s people should pray for things even when they know God has promised them.” with a reference forward to Matthew 6:10 – the Lord’s Prayer. I had also been battling prayer and promises in a lowkey way… I know God keeps His promises, but waiting is what’s hard for us – especially nowadays when things are so snapping quick. We want things yesterday. This was also a flashback to the sermon from last Sunday when my pastor said something similar to this – that if we wait just a little longer, sometimes we’re ready to give up right before He delivers on His promises. Sometimes giving up doesn’t mean we stop believing God or stop doing our Christian things, but giving up on His promises may mean we stop hoping for them, stop praying about them. God still wants us to come to Him – whether it’s with our doubts and questions or with hope and praise.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:10

When life isn’t clear, we can go to our God who brings clarity and strength when we don’t have it ourselves.

I hope you’re encouraged this morning and that you have a great weekend! Feel free to share your word of the year, if you have one, and how it’s impacted your year so far. ♥