Cultivate is my Word of the Year for 2026. The word cultivate may seem like an odd choice for someone who doesn’t do any yard work. I can barely keep plants alive inside or out. Did you know you have to water plants and flowers or they die? I typically wait until the spring flowers are 50% off before I buy them. It is less money to spend to watch them die. If it weren’t for my husband, our yard would be a weed-infested field with no flowers.
Why on earth would cultivate be my word? Do I intend to be a better gardener? After all these years, it seems unlikely.
The Bible has a lot to say about growing things. Adam was given the task of tending the garden. Gen 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.” Much of the Old Testament centers around tending crops and herds.
Dictionary.com says this about cultivate:
- to prepare and work on (land) in order to raise crops; till.
- to promote or improve the growth of (a plant, crop, etc.) by labor and attention.
- to develop or improve by education
- to promote the growth or development of (an art, science, etc.); foster.
- to devote oneself to (an art, science, etc.).
- to seek to promote or foster (friendship, love, etc.).
Our agrarian society knows the value of cultivating our crops and gardens. However, my focus is more of a faith related cultivation. It will be things I need to learn and things needed to foster a closer relationship with Jesus.
Our relationship with Christ needs to be cultivated. God is currently doing a great deal of cultivating in my life. I will be honest, I didn’t see it until just recently. God has given me another assignment, but isn’t releasing me from any current assignments. As I reflect on the last year, God has been plowing the field and planting seeds in my life. Some of the seeds that were planted a year ago are now beginning to sprout.
Over the next year, I need to take care of the crop that God has already planted. God has already started planting seeds in my life. I’m sure God has already planted seeds that I don’t know about yet. I need to make sure I take good care of my field while my crop is maturing.
I have to make sure the ground is ready for the Lord to plant the seeds. I have to tend to the field of my heart. Am I making room for the Lord to work? Am I making sure that I am spending time with the Lord? Am I making sure that weeds do not sprout? If I am not intentional about tending my field, then weeds will take over. I must be obedient to what the Lord asks.
Cultivating my own spiritual growth will be crucial as I attempt to help others. The Goal Chaser word of the year generator put it this way,“To cultivate means to prepare and nurture the ground for growth, whether it be in a garden or in one’s personal and spiritual life. It embodies the act of fostering development, encouraging deeper understanding, and creating an environment where faith can flourish. In the context of your aspirations, “cultivate” reflects the intention to enrich Bible study experiences and prayer practices, nurturing both individual and communal spiritual growth through thoughtfully designed materials and resources.”
Ladies, that description sums up my heart. We all have to nurture our hearts for growth just like we would tend a field. This next year the Lord wants me to begin creating digital products to assist others in growing closer to Him. God has a lot to do in me so that I can learn what I need to learn. I have a lot of processes and procedures to learn. Looking back I can see exactly when the Lord was tilling and planting seeds. He has already begun to open doors and is not even 2026 yet. Our God is so good!!!!
I have been looking at templates and experimenting with Canva for the last year. I’m still not very good at it but I am learning. I’ve been keeping a list of potential things that I could make. I even tried to make a couple of things. The time just didn’t seem right. However, many seeds were planted and how that will all be useful.
As I walk through this new growing season, these verses will be close to me:
Psalm 37:3 NASB95 “Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”
Psalm 90:12 AMP “So teach us to number our days, That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.”
1 Corinthians 14:1 AMP “Pursue [this] love [with eagerness, make it your goal], yet earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual gifts [to be used by believers for the benefit of the church], but especially that you may prophesy [to foretell the future, to speak a new message from God to the people].”
Philippians 2:12 AMP “So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ].”
Psalm 104:14 “He provides grass for the cattle, and crops for people to cultivate, so they can produce food from the ground,”
Psalm 107:37 NET “They cultivated fields, and planted vineyards, which yielded a harvest of fruit.”
Job 4:8 “My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same.”
Ezekiel 17:5 NET “He took one of the seedlings of the land, placed it in a cultivated plot; a shoot by abundant water, like a willow he planted it.”
I am expecting some growing pains, but it will be worth it if God is glorified.
Would you pray for me as I embark on this new journey?
faith, #Bible, #Scriptures, #Christian Women, #Discipleship, #womenintheBible, #Christian Women, #Word of the Year
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