Immersed in God's Love
- Candyce Carden
- Jan 22
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 4
Rather than making New Year resolutions, I love the practice of choosing one word to focus on for the new year. Past word choices have included enough, thrive, rest, prepare, and restore. Word focuses that have helped me grow and learn or change an incorrect way of thinking.
I seek God’s guidance at the end of the year until a particular word settles in my brain.
My 2025 Word of the Year is “Immersed.”
The Why
The truth of God’s love is simple, yet complex to grasp. I understand it’s free and that I can’t earn it. Still, I often doubted I deserved it and rarely felt worthy of it. So began a journey to embrace the lavish love of God.
The truth is none of us deserves God’s love, for His love cannot be earned. We don’t have to work for it because it’s ours to receive. What I needed was to learn how to receive it.
The Implication
We often associate the word immerse with water, as when we plunge vegetables into water to blanch, or when we dive into the pool to swim.
In the Bible, the word immerse is synonymous with baptism:
baptize — batizo 907 (Strong’s Greek)
to baptize, to immerse, to dip
“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ”
(Galatians 3:37 NIV).
Another definition of immerse is:
to involve oneself deeply in a particular interest or activity;
to be completely involved in something
“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress”
(1 Timothy 4:15 ESV).
I considered other words, such as “grasp” God’s love. That’s what I want to do. Not only comprehend it, but seize it with both hands and gather it into my heart. But before I can do that, I need to immerse my soul in God’s love.
In 2025, I’m going to intentionally focus on an immersion experience. I solicit your prayers that I’m able to fully receive God’s love as I immerse myself in it through prayer, reading, and journaling. It’s His gift. How could I reject it?
I’m curious. Do any readers practice picking one word, or idea, to focus on for the year? Drop it in the comments below.
If this tradition is new to you and you’d like to try it, these resources will help:
If you’re interested in immersing yourself in God’s love along with me, these books are wonderful:
Thanks for reading!
Immersed in His Love,
Candyce
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