As we enter into 2017, these are just a few verses that have given me a new heart and desire to pursue to faith with a few new perspectives. Here are the verses that I am praying challenge the way I live in this new year. Bring on 2017!

1. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. –Ecclesiastes 9:10

There are lots of things that we can commit to in this day and age. It’s easy to just have activities as “resume builders” and forget that in everything we do, there is a bigger purpose. There are so many ways to expand the kingdom no matter where we are or what we’re doing. But once you choose what to pursue, what interests you, and what you are passionate about, we are called to work at it wholeheartedly for the Lord. So when we get tired, when we are discouraged, when we feel like there’s nothing good coming out of it, we have this command to keep at it. And we wouldn’t be commanded to keep pursuing it if there wasn’t a greater purpose behind it. May we overcome being disheartened and weary and remember this verse when 2017 gets hard.

2. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. –Ephesians 4:29

Our tongue is such a small part of our body, but it makes great boasts. It shows the condition of our heart and has the potential of starting a fire in someone’s soul that can be either harmful or constructive. It is my prayer that I am slow to speak and quick to listen. And before I say I word, may I learn what it looks like to evaluate if what I am about to say points all those listening back to truth and the love of Jesus. It may be true that people forget what you say and forget what you do, but they never forget how you made them feel. Do our words make those around us feel loved, appreciated and encouraged or do they make them feel undervalued and hopeless? May every word that comes out of my mouth be spoken in love and genuine regard for the well-being of the other.

3. Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. –Proverbs 4:23

My prayer for this verse is short and sweet- that I am discerning in what I pour my heart into. Whether that be friendships, a relationship, a job or school, I want my heart to be focused on pursuing the plans of the Lord and having a joyful heart in that pursuit. The condition of our heart affects the way we treat others, create our list of priorities, and finally, a joyful heart reflects the One who lives within us- no matter where we find ourselves this year.

4. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on is unseen, for what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal. -2 Corinthians 4:18

In 2017, I refuse to focus on the grades, the pursuit or lack of an internship, the lack of control I have over my career, or the way the world appears from my judgmental human eyes. May I look around and be reminded of the greater purpose, the hands that grew the trees, the hands that knit those around me together, the hands that carefully painted every sunrise and sunset. May I see You in the things around me, and may I view creation as a reminder of our eternal purpose even while we are surrounded by the temporary.

5. We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. -2 Corinthians 4:7-9

We are jars of clay; we’re imperfectly shaped with lots of cracks, and easily broken. But that’s the beautiful thing. Anything that we accomplish can be credited to the Lord working through us, because alone we are nothing and able to accomplish nothing. Therefore, no matter what is thrown at me in 2017, it is my prayer that I remember what a blessing it is that I am a jar of clay- weak and in a place that allows the Lord to show power that is undoubtedly His. And even as we are weak and broken, He promises to sustain us and give us new hope.

6. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use this freedom to indulge in the flesh, rather to serve one another humbly in love. –Galatians 5:13

It’s so easy to take the freedom given to us by forgiveness for granted. We are able to cast the burden of anxiety and hardship onto a God who has our lives perfectly in his control. However, that freedom must not be put to waste. This freedom allows us to use our strength, our time, and our heart to love and serve others humbly. In humility, we are called to see others as more important than ourselves and put their needs above our own. May my heart acquire the perspective that it is more important to help a friend out then be to class on time. And when we serve, may it not be for our own gain or how others perceive us but may we serve with the goal of sharing the love of Christ instead.

7. Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the Father of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we are able to comfort those in trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. -2 Corinthians 1:3-4

As the people-pleaser that I am, I look to others for validation, for encouragement, and ultimately for love far too often. It is my prayer that I grow in my ability to find comfort in the Lord’s presence and the word of God: words that are sufficient, powerful, and is what my soul longs for deeply. He is my comfort, the one who I can bring my burdens to, the one who will wipe away the tears and give me renewed hope. Also my prayer is that I don’t forget the second half of this verse. Because of the love that our God of comfort has shown us, we are able to share that love and comfort those around us.

8. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. –Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

We long for community and deep fellowship with people that show us love. But how often have I desired this and forgotten that it is also my responsibility to be present and invested in order to be that community for someone else in search of the same thing. We aren’t meant to do life alone; we are meant to spur one another on and build each other up. We are meant to guide one another back on track to pursuing righteousness. We are called to lift one another up and pray for the words to encourage. We are meant to do life alongside one another. There is so much power in community; where two or three are gathered in my name, there He is among them (Matthew 18:20). Such a powerful promise.

9. In Christ we are a new creation, the old has passed and the new has come! -2 Corinthians 5:17

We aren’t held down to who we were, the mistakes that we have made, and the way we have approached life in the past. Our weaknesses aren’t permanent; in fact, the Lord is very clear about the hope He has in making us whole and not lacking anything (James 1:2-4). Even in this moment, we are offered a whole new ray of hope and an opportunity to refocus, reexamine our heart, and redirect our paths to pursuing what is right, good, and pure. May we not forget that it’s not just 2017 that brings hope but that His mercies are made new every morning. And freedom from the chains of yesterday is something that should set my heart on fire to live a life of love for Him who loved us first: today and every day into the future.