At the beginning of this year, January of ’23, the Lord gave me a word for the year. Typically, I have made fun of Christ followers who claim the Lord gave them a word for the year to meditate on and live in to. I would do an inner eye-roll at such talk. This mockery was obviously rooted in jealousy or, at worst, disbelief that God would speak in such a way. However, as I’ve gotten to know my Shepherd’s voice over the last few years, these kinds of things excite me and have become normal in conversation with friends. So, at the end of the day, I guess the joke is on me. Thankfully. To be proved wrong by the Lord is a funny and awesome thing. I laugh along with him at the boxes I try to put him in.
Arise.
This is the word the Lord gave me. I didn’t ask him for a word. And if I’m being honest, I still didn’t really believe he did this for people. Why just one word? One word to cover an entire year. What was the purpose in that? But, one morning as I was spending time with him in scripture, I just saw it and immediately knew he was speaking it to me. It was a living and active word and it began to jump off the pages of the Word as I read. Arise, rise, rose, arose…the words were everywhere I looked.
“Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away…” (Song of Sol 2:10)
“And he said to him, ‘rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’” (Luke 17:19)
“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” (Mark 2:11)
“But taking her by the hand he called, saying, ‘Child, arise’.” (Luke 8:54)
Often, after healing someone, Jesus tells that person to arise, indicating it’s time to get up; it’s time to take ownership and action; it’s time to become a living testimony. After reading some of these scriptures, I knew that was his purpose in saying it to me as well. I didn’t know what to do with it exactly except to accept it, stay alert, and pay attention. I knew he would have to grab my hand and pull me up because I honestly didn’t know how to get up. What did it mean? What did it look like? I needed help and specific instructions.
I once heard a preacher say if the Lord gives you a word, pray it, prepare for it, and proclaim it. So I kept this word in my heart and, I’ll add another “p” word, I pondered it. I’ve spent this year with “arise” in my thoughts and prayers, waiting on the Lord to perform it. Another “p” word. (Should I contact that preacher and tell him there are actually five “p’s”?!).
Over the last few years, the Lord has done some intense freedom and healing work in my life. While there have been many areas of freedom, there is one specifically where the Lord took his time while doing surgery. Forty years of fear and timidity had built up in my system and to extricate it took great care from my Physician. That care came in the form of people - brothers and sisters in Christ, delivering me, believing in me, encouraging me, and calling me into my identity in Christ.
The Lord allowed me time to heal, nearly three years. Now, he gently told me it was time for me to stand up, shake off the remnants of fear, and begin to move purposefully in him. What I love about the Lord is that he doesn’t expect us to move on our own. He doesn’t heal and leave. In his mercy, grace, and wisdom he pulls us up and remains near, leading and guiding us as we try to take our shaky first steps of freedom. And in our imperfection, he remains.
Something I’ve learned over the course of this year from having a specific word from the Lord is, that if he gives a word and you receive his word, he will absolutely watch over his word to perform it. There is nothing in my own strength that could help me live into that word, except to obey. Arising meant giving him my “yes” to whatever he asked of me next. A simple “yes” to him in both big things and small.
Yes, I will give my testimony. Thank you for freeing my voice to do this without fear.
Yes, I will apologize to her. Thank you for this conviction.
Yes, we will buy an old building and dedicate it to prayer and worship. Thank you for our beautiful and passionate partners.
Yes, I will text this person and encourage them. Thank you for the words to give.
Yes, I will lead worship. Thank you for freedom from performance and timidity.
As I look forward to what another year of walking in the Spirit will bring, I wonder if the Lord will give me a new word. I have a feeling the word “arise” will bleed into the next few years as he teaches and trains me in obedience. But, I’ve learned by now not to try and guess what the Lord’s next move is. What a beautiful and awesome wonder he is.
