Words of the Year, Soul Cleanouts & Keeping Hope Burning for 2025

Jenni Lien

Jan 67 min read

Christian quote graphic You Are You podcast for women

For me and many of my friends, 2024 was a really refining year. And may it continue in 2025, amen? In this episode, I share my word of the year for 2024, how my year went and what I learned about said word, how I felt God used the year to do a lot of internal refining, and why it’s OK that things may not have happened in our way or timing in 2024 but we can go into 2025 full of more hope than ever. Love you, friends. Blessed new year and speak soon.

Listen to You Are You Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or read the transcript below.

So…

Who else misses creating?!

I’m raising my hand here, prepping this podcast episode to get myself out of a creative rut.

For the past few months, I’ve felt God nudging me—in the middle of my current life situation where it's been tough to find time to create, because the kind of creating I love requires deep introspection, and sometimes it’s hard to sit and just feel—that he will help me create right now.

And as we all know, God gives us many opportunities to obey him, so here we are.

Since feeling that nudge, I’ve also sensed God pouring out new ideas, hopes, and dreams as well as that burning desire to create more.

So, I wanted to start this episode by sharing a peek into my state of mind, in the hopes that you might be able to relate. Maybe we can virtually hold hands, give each other that loving nudge we sometimes need to be honest about where we are with God, confess if there’s anything we’re not believing him about, and spend more time at his feet for clarity.

Because blessed are we to have a God who leads us! Who not only loves to guide us but lets us soar on his wings (Isaiah 40:31) and rest in green pastures (Psalm 23:2). God knows exactly what we need, always. So, let’s not enter this day, this new year, or this season without enjoying all the spiritual gifts he wants to give us. As we’ve likely experienced, God’s best doesn’t always look like what we think is best, but as we give him our faith, trust, and time, we get to experience his perfection again and again.

I’m currently prepping this from my couch on the morning of New Year’s Eve, with the window cracked open because it’s an unusually warm December day. I’m staring out at a view of Toronto—skyscrapers, Lake Ontario, townhouses, and construction. I’m grateful I can see it all, because yesterday was so rainy and foggy, I couldn’t see beyond a few feet.

One thing I’ve been prayerfully reflecting on these past few days—these "end-of-year, thinking-ahead-to-the-new-year" days—is my love for new experiences and gaining fresh perspectives. When I think back to my twenties, it was a decade of living abroad, traveling extensively for work to major Asian cities like Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, and Jakarta, taking weekend trips to new countries, and visiting friends in cities like Paris and Sydney. I didn’t take it for granted—well, mostly. After a few years, though, I started craving a new adventure.

And even in 2024 alone... This time last year, I had just returned to Canada after spending five months living in Taipei. Then I started a new job, joined a startup incubator, moved to a new city, and spent the last six months enjoying this new chapter.

Not every day has been perfect. There have been plenty of highs, but also perhaps just as many "But God..." moments. I’m currently praying over areas that came so easily in the past. I love new adventures, but if God brings me into a season that’s less outwardly stimulating than the ones I’ve loved in the past... how am I reacting? Is praying for more excitement bad—or good? Honestly, I’m still taking this to God. If he has intense adventures ahead, bring it on—I’m ready! But if it’s a fleshly desire and God wants me to embrace something different, may I wholeheartedly desire that instead.

When I was living my best international life, I wasn’t as surrendered to God. I was also a date-for-the-plot kind of girl in my twenties, having some very romance-novel-k-drama type relationships. They were fun and exciting, but ultimately not satisfying. So now I find myself in a place where I’m waiting on God to bring clarity on some very foundational aspects of life—and it hasn’t been easy. Is it ever? I say I want what God wants for me, but some days, it’s hard to wait. And even though he’s blown my mind so many times, I still sometimes wrestle with thoughts like, “Could it be possible that my life will be less amazing than I want?"

I confess that thought to rebuke it—just in case anyone listening is or has struggled with it, too. Let’s remember this moment as one where we sought God and reflected on why we doubt his goodness, even though we’ve tasted and seen that the Lord is good before.

From conversations with friends and acquaintances, it seems like 2024 was a refining year for many. We started the year full of expectation, hoping for promises fulfilled, but experienced a lot of warfare instead of the ease we hoped for. Honestly, that was me too.

When it comes to “words of the year,” not everyone believes they receive one from God, but many do. For the past few years, I’ve felt God speak to me about one. My word for 2024 was joy, which obviously excited me. I was starting a new ministry-related job, working on a startup, and moving to Toronto—what adventures awaited? I was so excited.

And praise God, a lot of wonderful things happened, but perhaps the most change happened in me internally. External blessings are great, but if we don’t have the emotional or mental maturity to steward them, they aren’t blessings if they pull us away from God. So, as I worked and moved, prayed and planned, and felt the pressure, I eventually realized I needed to take a step back and reassess. It was an emotional process to pivot and reprioritize. One of those moments where I realized that hard work doesn’t always achieve the result we want, but submission to the Lord means we’re still in his plan, and he’s not done with us yet.

Around October, I started to realize that maybe God didn’t say “joy” to prepare me for a year where all my dreams would come true, but as a reminder that no matter what happened in 2024, I needed to hold on to joy.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

I say these verses often because I need the reminders!

Rejoicing always, in every circumstance, is possible because God says it is—and because we can rest knowing that the outcome isn’t solely based on our human effort. God understands when we’re weary and need rest. He never expects perfection. The most life-changing moments in my life have been because of God’s favour—not because I did everything perfectly, but because I waited on the Lord, prayed, and in his perfect way and timing he opened the door.

So, as I head into 2025, I feel like God used 2024 to clean out my soul a little bit and make me more loving and open. For this, I’m exceptionally grateful.

I still feel like I’m in a new stage of tension, between what I loved in the past and what I love and hope for now. I pray that we all truly believe that God doesn’t only reserve his best for those who make the least mistakes. Flick away worries that we'll need to settle for second or third best. Even when Paul was persecuting God’s people, God still chose him and used him for his glory, right? Our God can redeem. He has always had a plan and is never surprised by anything.

So, whether or not we’ve sensed a new word for the year, whether we’re ending 2024 on a high, low, or somewhere in between, I pray we still have fresh hope. Since God is giving us a new year, he has plans for it and for us. His plans might be different from what we expected or unfold in a different timing than we hoped, but we can trust that the soul-satisfying life that will make us truly happy is the story God has written. Even if we had the life of our dreams, if it’s not God’s will for us, we wouldn’t experience the peace that surpasses all understanding.

May we live open to him, trusting that even when our days feel confusing, we can rest knowing we are in his plan.

I also started reading something today that made me smile. I’ve always admired people who craft sentences that make you feel. The writing I came across today reminded me of that—smart, relatable, and full of fresh perspective. It made me smile, because it reminded me how fresh life can feel.

God has new things to teach us and do through us in 2025. Let’s get excited for what’s ahead! I pray we have ‘new wineskins’—fresh perspectives in all areas of our lives that need refreshing, living empowered by God’s Spirit in everything we do. Whether we’re writers, doctors, musicians, business strategists, entrepreneurs, teachers, fitness instructors, or more, God has fresh perspectives for us all.

So, let’s testify, encourage, and allow others to do life with us. Lord, help us grow, mature, and become more like Jesus in this new year. I pray for new blessings, opportunities, and answered prayers. You want to do great things through your people—prepare us and do them through us.

Love you, and thanks for listening. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to DM me.

Happy New Year and speak soon. :)