It’s a new year! Which means new opportunities, open doors, and time to grow! After Christmas, I spend some time praying and reflecting to choose a verse for the new year. While I have no idea how this year will turn out, I want to have a way – a goal – to grow in my relationship with Christ. In the past years of choosing a verse for the new year, I find myself and the Holy Spirit constantly reciting the verse in the moments I need it, whether it’s to teach me or bring me comfort. I have been blessed in many ways by treasuring a verse with purpose to focus on throughout the year. And it’s something that I want for you too! So in this post, I will help you in choosing a verse for the new year.
How Do You Go About Picking a Verse?
I’ve seen people in my life pick a verse that they feel they need to focus on during the new year as a way for them to grow in their spiritual life. I always thought that it would be hard to choose just one verse, or even one passage, for the whole year. When you think about it, a year is a long time. A lot happens in 12 months.
Choosing one verse to focus on this new year doesn’t mean that you can’t store up and treasure many other verses… actually, it’s something you should do! We are called to study and know God’s Word, to have it written on our hearts. And as you learn more of scripture, you’ll see that God will bring several verses and passages for different moments and different seasons throughout the entire year! God’s Word is heart transforming, all of His Word is. So don’t feel pressured into believing that the verse you choose has to be the only one that makes an impact on your life this year.
Pray about it
The first step in choosing your new year’s verse is to pray about it! Ask God to show you what HE wants you to focus on this year. We could easily flip open the Bible and choose the verse that our finger randomly lands on. But God is not a God of coincidence. There is purpose in everything He does. So pray and seek His wisdom about choosing a verse.
Give yourself a “spiritual check-up”
What is a spiritual check-up? You have already done this in your life as a Christian. It’s when you evaluate where you are in your faith and where you would like to be. You’ve done it when you know you are struggling in an area of life and seek God’s help to fix it. You do it when you are encouraged by another believer to grow deeper in your faith.
Using the free worksheet at the end of this post, here’s how to give yourself a spiritual check-up for choosing a verse:
Start by writing down the things you’re currently struggling with: anxiety, fear, depression, impatience, anger, selfishness, frustration, discontentment, exhaustion/weariness, pride, wavering in faith, doubt, etc.
Next, write about what you may have been learning lately, whether at church, in your bible study (personal or with others), from your trials, from the good things happening in your life, etc. and things that you know God has been teaching you.
Then write down how you want to grow in your faith despite your struggles. In other words, areas you want to grow in.
Look for verses – keep an eye out/listen for what God may show you
Start searching for verses that may help you in your struggles, to comfort you in your enduring trial, or to continue teaching you about a specific thing. This doesn’t have to happen in one day. As you’re praying about it, come back to your worksheet and write down verses as you are reminded of them or as you find them. Use some Bible resource tools like a Bible dictionary, the concordance, a study Bible, or a “what to read when…”. Do what you need to do!
Return in prayer
Cycle back to prayer as you give yourself a spiritual check-up and look for verses. Pray over the verses you have found, asking the Lord if one of them needs to be the one you focus on for the year.
I know this deals a lot with truly hearing God’s voice, and sometimes it’s difficult to know when it’s God’s voice or something else. But listen for the conviction you feel in your heart when God reveals to you the verse(s) He wants you to focus on. Maybe you don’t feel any conviction on any of them, or any that you may not have thought of. Don’t worry! The best advice I can give you is to choose one of the verses from your list. You can NEVER go wrong by choosing to treasure a verse from God’s Word.
Never a better time to start then now!
Whether you are reading this right after Christmas or in July, there’s never a better time to start then now. There’s nothing that says you have to choose it by January 1st. And even if you are starting this process around the New Year, it’s okay if you need extra time – a few more days, a couple more weeks. The important thing is that you seek out God’s Word in order to help you grow in your relationship with Christ. And from there, whatever God teaches you through this verse/passage, you can help others as they go through the same thing!
So, to help you choose a verse for 2021, use this free “Choosing a Verse for the New Year” printable that I’ve created for you to help get you started. Write this verse down in your planner each week (here’s a weekly planner sheet for you!), put it on a sticky note, or make a cute screensaver with it. Store it and treasure it!
_____________
I would absolutely love to hear the verse(s) you are going to focus on in 2021 and how choosing a verse for the new year went! When I finally have mine, I will definitely share with you all too!
Have a Happy New Year!
