Do you choose a word for the year? I’ve been doing this for several years now, and it has become a treasured practice. As the calendar winds down, I pray about a new word and let the Holy Spirit lead me. I love seeing where He directs my heart!

This year my word is Worth. Worth has many definitions, but the main one I have in mind is “high value or merit.”

I want to honor the worth of the people in my life. Each person is unique, and I want to see them as precious individuals worth investing in.

In my spiritual life, I want to see the worth of Christ as King of my life. He is worthy! And living by faith in Him is worth it.

Personally, I want to grow in seeing the worth of myself. Although I’ve never struggled with self-confidence, I recently found myself telling a friend, “It’s hard for me to show up for myself the way I show up for other people.” It’s easy for me to see someone else’s needs and try to meet them. It’s harder to see my own needs and be willing to advocate for myself—even within myself—to meet them in a healthy way. As I’ve talked about this with others, one Scriptural principle keeps coming up: Love your neighbor as yourself. You could rephrase this with its inverse: Love yourself as you love your neighbor. Mic drop!

My worth isn’t in what I accomplish or how much I do for others. My worth comes from being created in God’s image. He says I am worth everything, even the life of His Son. I want to walk in that knowledge even while I continue to love others and pursue the callings He has given me.

Another aspect of worth that I find intriguing is how it is tied to redemption. When you purchase (redeem) something at the store, you pay its value (worth). I believe with my whole heart that God redeems our circumstances. It’s rarely in ways we would choose, but He is working and will bring good from our trials. It makes me think of Romans 8:18: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

He will bring worth from the circumstances of my life. I can’t wait to see that unfold.