3 Reasons to Frame the Year with Scripture

Earlier this week, I had a great talk with Brooke and Erin on the Million Praying Moms podcast. We shared all about our words for 2020 but mostly we chatted about all the reasons we love and find great value in praying Scripture. {Listen to our conversation >> HERE <<}

I’ve been thinking a lot about what God might have me do with this word He’s given me for 2020. What and how will SMALL shape me?

One of the things that keeps coming to mind are the verses He’s impressed on me for the year. Verses about all different areas of my life that, at first glance, don’t seem all that connected.

Frame the Year with Scripture

As I have pondered these verses and tried to put them into some sort of linear order or list I can check off, I’m discovering that’s not working. Instead, I have this sense that God is calling me to use these verses not in a linear way, but more as a frame (or framework) for how I approach the year.

My verses this year

So far, there are three verses God has continued to bring to the front for me in 2020.

John 3:30 — He must increase, but I must decrease.

Philippians 2:3 — Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.

Nehemiah 6:3 —So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing important work and cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”

I’ve also spent time in Nehemiah 3. The whole chapter is an account of people who are rebuilding the piece of the wall right in front of them.

Building the frame

As I look at these verses and passages, I immediately see two big themes: focus on others and do the work in front of me.

Those two themes are the first part of my frame for 2020. As I seek to understand what this idea of SMALL means, I am starting with these two things — focusing on the people right around me and doing the work God has given me in this season.

It’s easy for me to get so focused on the tasks at hand that I neglect the people in my life. And I can also be more future-focused and fail to give adequate attention to the tasks I need to do now.

These verses help shift my attention toward the Lord and how He would have me spend my days.

Why this helps

Maybe you are wondering why I’m sharing this and what it has to do with you. Good questions, of course.

First, framing my year with Scripture helps me keep a Kingdom focus. When I look at multiple verses from both the Old and New Testaments, I am reminded that my life is not about me but about the Lord and how He wants to use me to bring Him glory and build His Kingdom.

Second, using Scripture as a focus gives me confidence as I make other decisions about my priorities, time, and resources.

And third, when I use God’s Word as a guide and framework, I am constantly pushed back into a posture of submission. Because I am seeking God’s Kingdom and allowing His glory to be my primary aim, I am ever aware of my need to seek Him in every decision, to live in awareness of His authority and sovereignty.

3 reasons to frame your year with the Word of God. Share on X

What about you?

If you choose a verse (or verses) for the year, how do you allow those passages to guide your day-to-day decisions as well as the big picture for the year? Have you considered the ways using Scripture to create a frame for your year can help you focus on the Lord and abide in Him?