Wednesday in the Word: Transformation

 

Toward the end of last year, a sweet friend and reader asked if I’d consider writing Bible study type posts, and I loved that suggestion. When I sat down to think through my 2026 post rotation, I decided to focus on something Bible-study related on Wednesdays. Today is the first of these weekly pieces.

                Right before the end of 2025, as I sat in the early morning stillness, God drew me to Psalm 37 and nudged me to make this Psalm a theme of mine in 2026.

                I’d read a little piece written by Dave Adamson, which said (in part), “Right now most of us are planning 2026. Budgets, fitness goals, career moves, survival with little hope attached. But here’s the problem: we plan for improvements. God plans for transformation. Our plans aren’t wrong, they’re just incomplete. Christine Caine says it well: Don’t be afraid to ask your Father for anything. Craig Groeschel pushes it further: Big faith prays bold prayers. Don’t believe too small. What am I planning for 2026? And am I ready for God to blow past it?”

                With that in mind, I read some of the words of Psalm 37:

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in Him, and He will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him;

                I’ll admit to being cautious in my prayers. Too cautious, I’m afraid. What would it look like if I trusted without reserve? Delighted to the fullest? Committed without hesitation? Waited with joy?

                Whew! Those are big for me. It seems safer to make pretty, color-coded lists and work really hard. But how much I miss by only clutching my beloved lists and striving. In Dave’s words, I’ve planned for improvements, but God plans for my transformation. My lists are incomplete because I can’t see the big, wide picture of life that God sees so clearly.

                So these are the words I’ve settled my attention on as we begin this new year. I’m working on delighting and committing and praying bold prayers. I’m asking God to truly transform my heart. I’ve chosen to start each day by reading Psalm 37 and allowing the words to soak into my soul. And I’m sitting with the hard (for me) questions above.

                Lord, transform my vision!