God’s Word for This Season

At the beginning of each year, God gives me a single word that sums up what He is doing in my life in the current season. It points to what I will walk into if I choose to partner with it. It’s a prophetic declaration of a promise and its fulfillment. And it brings with it immeasurable hope.

Psalms says:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. (Psalm 32:8, NIV)

He is always guiding us, teaching us, and walking with us. I know that if I lean into Him for the fulfillment, if I keep this word at the top of my spirit, remembering it often and watching for it, even in the midst of circumstances that seem contrary, I will walk in it.

Last year the word was Restore. And God faithfully restored me in ways I could not have planned or imagined. Far beyond what I had hoped for in a single year. Restoration can be a lifelong journey for followers of Jesus, so I know I will always walk in this, but 2025 was the season where God brought bucketloads of freedom to me. He restored hope and purpose, and set me up for a new and beautiful journey in Him. He also fulfilled a prophetic word He had spoken to me in 2012 that I would become “a pillar in the house of the Lord,” serving Him in ministry. I held onto that word for fourteen years, and last year God opened the door for me to start walking in it.

This year He has given me a new word, Forward, and I’m standing on tippy toes, reaching up to Him like a child, waiting for Him to take my hand. I know He will walk me forward into all that He has for me, because He said so.

We don’t have to align our seasons in the Lord with the annual calendar (God certainly doesn’t stuff Himself into that box), but the beginning of the year is often a time when we naturally wonder: What’s next? What’s for now? What’s for this year? So why not ask Him?

The Lord is constantly speaking to us and His words are containers for their own fulfillment, like little satchels packed with many treasures. From these word-satchels come three treasures I want to focus on today: clarity of vision, understanding the season, and the power to walk in the word.

Clarity of Vision

The first treasure is clarity of vision. When God speaks over us, His words restore vision and purpose. They show us God’s heart, and where He is leading, reminding us He does have a plan and He is unfolding it. We don’t always know how it will look or what we will encounter, but when He speaks, we remember that He knows. If we would just lean into Him and seek His voice, this treasure will spill out of the satchel, and His vision for us will shed light on our path.

Vision is essential in our walk with the Lord. It steadies us when life is shaky, and anchors us in identity.

Scripture is clear about the cost of living without vision.

Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18, KJV)

Other translations say that without vision, people cast off restraint. They lose focus and, floundering in the uncertainty, react instead of walking with intention, and may end up in places they never wanted to be.

The Hebrew word for vision is chazon, which speaks of revelation, not human ambition. Vision is not about setting goals or manufacturing purpose. It is about receiving insight from God that orders our lives around what He is doing.

I know what it feels like to live without vision. I have walked through seasons where I felt directionless, restless, unsure of who I was or where I was going, and these uncertainties tend to breed worthlessness. When God speaks, He restores orientation and re-establishes purpose, which rebuilds worth and identity in us. His voice reminds us that we are not wandering aimlessly, we are being led by a loving Father, even in the tough seasons.

Understanding the Season

Another treasure we receive from the Lord when He speaks is an understanding of the season we are in. We are given a window of time where His word is meant to be walked out, nurtured, tested, and fulfilled. It is not a rigid season, where once it is finished we are no longer walking in it, but rather a time that can be saturated with a particular work the Lord is doing in us. This often brings clarity to why we are facing certain things, and at the same time helps us to press into Him for fulfillment of His word.

In Scripture, we are told of a group of men from the tribe of Issachar whom the Lord brought to David as he was being established as king. They became a vital part of his army, not because of their strength or military skill, but because of their discernment. They were known for understanding the times and knowing what ought to be done.

“The sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32, NKJV).

These men could read the moment they were living in and respond wisely to it. Understanding the season keeps us from striving ahead of God or lagging behind Him.

But there is a third treasure hidden in the words God speaks.

In the full reflection, we share how God’s word carries the power to fulfill what it declares, and how we respond when He speaks.

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