How to Let the Word of God Shape Your Year

A new year brings fresh goals and expectations, but lasting growth happens when God shapes our plans from the very beginning. Grounded in Psalm 90:12, this devotional invites us to number our days wisely by centering our decisions, goals, and hopes on God’s Word—so our year is formed by His wisdom, not just our intentions. Highlights Resolutions often fail when God is left out of the planning process. Seeking God’s wisdom leads to better decisions—not just faster ones. Prayer helps align our goals with God’s purposes for our lives. Gratitude grows when we recognize everything we have as a gift from God. Trust is strengthened by remembering how God has carried us through before. Hope remains steady because it’s rooted in an unchanging God. Daily dependence on God shapes a year marked by growth and faithfulness. Do you want to listen ad-free? When you join Crosswalk Plus, you gain access to exclusive, in-depth Bible study guides, devotionals, sound biblical advice, and daily encouragement from trusted pastors and authors—resources designed to strengthen your faith and equip you to live it out boldly. PLUS ad free podcasts! Sign Up Today! Full Transcript Below: How to Let the Word of God Shape Your YearBy Aaron D’Anthony Brown Bible Reading:“Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” (Psalm 90:12, CSB) With the new year comes new hopes, expectations, and disappointments. Whatever we face, everything is always better when we face it with God. Sadly, however, we often start our year without focusing on Him. We have our goals and plans for achieving them. Yet, the Lord doesn’t always factor into that process. Perhaps that explains at least part of the reason so many resolutions fade away by the end of January. We make commitments, but none stick. What sticks are the excuses. Here’s an alternative. What if we made plans, but factor God into the process? What if we sought Him for wisdom on what goals to set and how best to accomplish those goals? As a believer, that may sound self-evident, but we make many decisions every day without consulting God. We enter disputes with loved ones, take on responsibilities, and more, all without spending sufficient time in prayer. Sometimes we have to make split-second decisions. However, if we’re being honest, there are times we could pray and simply don’t. We think we know what’s best, but then we feel foolish when things don’t exactly work out. Let’s do something different this new year. Before we make any plans, let’s figure out how we can allow God to shape this new year. Intersecting Faith & Life: Entering into the new year is undoubtedly an exciting time. If we’re going to make the most of this newness, we should strive to put the Lord first. Here are a few ways you can let the word of God shape your year: With Action Some of us set unrealistic goals, some of us set too many goals, and some of us set no goals at all. The solution to all of this is to pray for wisdom, which God gives freely (James 1:5). He knows our heart’s desires and also knows what’s best for us. Seek Him and ask Him for the best approach. Doing so will help us find the wisdom we need not just to make good decisions, but the best decisions. The new year is a great time for action because we enter it with a fresh mindset. However, keep in mind that we don’t have to wait for the new year to change. We should seek God on a daily basis to become more like Christ, rather than waiting for special occasions. With Gratitude When God is at the center of our plans, we experience greater gratitude. That’s the natural result of living a life with a view of the Creator. We know that what we have is not given freely, and not our own, and not to be taken for granted. What we have are gifts from God. Our plans, the success of the plans, and the result, whatever that may be. With Trust When life goes our way, and even when it doesn’t, knowing that God has brought us through before helps us trust Him for the next time. That applies to specific circumstances, such as familial disputes or loss, but also applies to how we approach the new year. Some years are better than others for a myriad of reasons - financial, relational. Whatever the case, God has seen us through the difficult times, which reminds us we ought to trust Him for whatever comes next year. There is no good reason to fear the future. With Hope Faith in God grants us a hope for the future that people can’t find when they don’t believe in a higher power. Such individuals are forced to find hope in people and circumstances, and that hope can just as quickly falter. However, when we have our eyes trained on God, we set our feet on solid ground. We find many reasons to hope. And those reasons never change because God never changes (Hebrews 13:8). Let that be an encouragement as you set yourself to grow, not just this new year, but day by day. Further ...