In the New Year,
May we become the Word (Word + Breath)
Psalm 1:1-3
Calvin called the Psalms the anatomy of the soul. This is because the Psalms, like a mirror, reflect all aspects of human intellect, emotion, and will—reason, feelings, and desires. The Psalms reveal without reservation all the love and joy, hope and hatred, pain and sorrow, anxiety and fear of life.
The psalmist begins by describing what brings him joy. He says his joy is in meditating on the law of the Lord day and night. Psalm 1:1-2: “Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.”
To “delight” means to willingly do God’s will and to love and cherish His word in one’s heart. Therefore, it says, “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8).
What makes us happy today? What moves us deeply? When we honestly ask ourselves these questions, looking into our inner selves, we can identify what is truly important to us.
The same is true for delighting in the law. Who is the person who delights in the Word? It is the person who meditates on the Word day and night, keeps it in their heart, and is willing to pay the price to live according to its meaning.
“What does this word mean?” The Word is different from mere words. In our language, the word for “Word” is a compound of “word” and “breath.” Anything that does not contain God’s “breath” cannot be the Word; it is merely “words.” The statement, “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), means that God’s breath powerfully influenced humanity, providentially guiding them to record God’s will.
In Greek, two words are used to refer to the Word of God: Logos (λόγος) refers to the “written Word of God,” and Rhema (ῥῆμα) refers to the Word recorded in Scripture (Logos) that, through the work of the Holy Spirit, becomes a living, powerful word that specifically impacts an individual’s life—that is, “my word.” It signifies that Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, dwells within us. This is more than just written words; it is a living voice that inspires and transforms.
We should ask ourselves questions like, “Through this word, what does God want me to understand and change? Am I experiencing God’s character revealed in this word?” A blessed person is one who finds joy and benefit in this process. They bear fruit in their lives, and everything they do prospers.
Psalm 1:3: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
Prosperity is a characteristic of a life lived in fellowship with God. Those who walk with God live lives of sacrifice, paying the price to fulfill God’s will.
The goal of meditation is to fill our hearts with God’s Word. When we do this, our words carry authority. We exert a positive influence.
Even if we speak the right words and raise our voices, we sometimes experience our words returning as empty echoes. Why is that? Why do our words lack authority? Because our hearts are not yet fully filled with God’s Word. This is because our words are still composed of habitual rhetoric and religious clichés.
In the year of the Red Horse, 2026, I pray that we may delight in God’s word. May our words become breath (God’s breath), and may they become power, transforming the world and making us protagonists of holy change. Like the Red Horse, with passion, courage, and powerful momentum, may you accomplish what you intend in Christ Jesus, who became flesh, and may you achieve even greater leaps forward in the coming year.
Therefore,
I pray and hope that you will become blessed people who live a life guided by the Holy Spirit,
a life that overcomes the world abundantly,
and a life that enjoys heaven on earth.
Hymn 395
https://youtu.be/jLuhZ5o_yUM?si=U2wbhQ0b7wMTQVDn
By Rev. Jaewoong Chang
(Heavenly Vision Community Church)
