The calendar flips. The confetti settles. And suddenly it’s a new year.
It often arrives with quiet pressure—an expectation to be hopeful, motivated, and ready for change. But when you are walking through betrayal, separation, or divorce, January 1 can feel less like a fresh start and more like a continuation of unresolved pain.
If that’s where you find yourself, take heart. God is not asking you to fix your life this year. He is inviting you to bring your heart to Him—just as it is. Before resolutions, before plans, before answers, God meets you in your honest posture.
Moving from Resolutions to Posture
Resolutions tend to focus on outcomes: what will change, what will improve, what will finally be different. But healing—especially after betrayal—is rarely linear or controllable. You may be stepping into this year still waiting for clarity in your marriage, still navigating separation, or still grieving a future you hoped for. Instead of asking, What should I accomplish this year? consider a gentler, deeper question: Who am I becoming as I walk with God through this season?
That is where an intentional word or phrase can serve—not as a task, but as a posture of the heart.
Prayerfully Seeking a Word or Phrase
An intentional word invites you to show up to the year with openness rather than striving. It becomes a way to orient your heart toward God when circumstances don’t change. Words like abide, surrender, steady, beloved, daily bread, or trust are not goals to achieve. They are reminders of how you want to remain present with God—especially on the days when hope feels thin. Jesus speaks to this posture when He says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you” (John 15:4). Remaining is not effort; it is presence.
As you pray, you might ask:
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Lord, what posture are You inviting my heart into this year?
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What do You want me to remember when I feel discouraged or afraid?
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What truth do I need to return to again and again?
When the Circumstances Stay the Same
If the relationship doesn’t change, if healing feels slow, or if the year ahead feels uncertain, remember this: God’s work in you is not stalled. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6). Your posture—soft, surrendered, honest before God—matters more than outcomes you cannot control.
This year does not need to be fixed. It only needs to be faithfully surrendered. And God will meet you there.
A Prayer for the Year Ahead
Lord, I enter this year with open hands. Shape the posture of my heart. Give me a word to carry that draws me closer to You, and help me walk this year in trust, one day at a time. Amen.
COMPANION RESOURCE AVAILABLE: Word of the Year – A Devotional Journaling Workbook