My Word for 2023

As the month of December started, I began to think and pray about my word for 2023. 

I had just started reading through a devotional Advent book with my mom for the month of December, specifically called Emmanuel, a 25 day journey to prepare Christ room at Christmas time and always, written by Ruth Chou Simons. As I got to Day 22, titled the Prince of Peace, my curiosity peaked since I had just been reflecting over my word for 2022, Peace.

Little did I know that God was going to use the day's devotional reading on PEACE to lead me into my word for the next year.

Here are a few quotes from that day's reading on page 207.

"The peace we experience in our everyday lives becomes an overflow of the peace we know when the Prince of Peace rules our hearts.....even lovely attempts at creating a peaceful atmosphere fall short of giving us true peace.... Where do you look to find peace? Does it satisfy?"

"In this season, teach me to be satisfied with nothing less than peace with You and peace in You."

The word jumped out at me, just as it did when I searched for verses for my post about having to fight for that sacred time in the morning to spend with God. So I made a note of it in my devotional and continued reading the following day.

Day 23, titled Lord of Lords  on page 212.

"Submitting to the lordship of Christ in our lives should be a joyful laying down of our own wills in recognition that our King, Jesus, is stronger, better, more loving, and more satisfying than anything else we could align our lives with." 

"What a delight life becomes when we make Christ master over everything? And how miserable life becomes when we cling to a throne that is not rightfully ours."

When I look for peace in a person rather than in my unsettled/unfinished circumstances, I can be satisfied. Not just content , delighted, or joyful or not miserable, but satisfied. That's my desire for the year ahead. Both peace (authentic peace) and satisfaction from spending time in the presence of Christ.

The definition of the word for satisfy in Hebrew is to be sated, satisfied or surfeited.

According to the dictionary, the word surfeited means: cause (someone) to desire no more of something as a result of having consumed or done it to excess. The word sated means to be fully satisfied or overfilled. 

Can you imagine being so consumed with your time with Jesus that you don't or can't desire more? Imagine how different my outlook on each day might be if that's the way I start my morning? 

The more filled I am with the presence of Jesus, the more I can't help but let him overflow onto everyone around me. 

That's what I want--to be fully satisfied with Jesus love early in the morning. I don't just want contentment, which means I am choosing to be happy with whatever I have. Satisfied means I got exactly what I wanted, what I was searching for!

May I come to Jesus each and every day truly seeking to be fully satisfied with Him.