Listen
My word for 2026
The new year has begun, and already I feel a self-inflicted pressure to continue the same pattern of Substack writing for Defaulting to Grace as in 2025: Tuesdays a new devotion, Fridays a flash fiction, and in-between, commenting in Notes. That was last year’s calling: to reflect on the Goodness of God for 52 weeks. That journey strengthened my understanding of one facet of the Father’s nature. I learned more deeply of His love, His trustworthiness, His provision, and His purpose. I hope those who joined my on the journey found the same.
In 2026, I am compelled, not to explore an attribute of God, but rather to listen. The verb in Hebrew, יִשְׁמַע (Yishmaʿ), comes from a primitive root meaning “to hear intelligently” with discernment and obedience implied. The root word is also connected to the daily declaration of faith by Jewish people around the world: the Shema, which opens “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV).
If the Lord established the Shema as a daily prayer for His people, with Jesus naming it as the greatest command of God (Matthew 22:37-38), it stands to reason that listening matters more than teaching, more than writing, and more than persuading.
For me, listening includes reading more from giants of the faith. I’m starting with Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan 1678 original date) and The Pilgrims Regress (C.S. Lewis 1933 original date). From there, I will wait and see how the Lord leads. I have a few books already stacked up from Tim Keller, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, E.M. Bounds, among others. I am not planning nor predicting how this year will unfold, but I anticipate a rich new understanding of God’s goodness as I listen to the wisdom of those who came before.
These are affiliate links, for which I may receive a commission:
Pilgrim’s Progress: Grapevine Press (2023) ; Alan Vermilye (2020).
The Pilgrims Regress: Wade Annotated Edition (2020).
Others on my desktop: Keller, The Reason for God, Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, and Bounds, The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds.
Resources
Blue Letter Bible. Sowing Circle, 1996–2026, www.blueletterbible.org.
Bible Gateway. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2001. Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/versions/English-Standard-Version-ESV-Bible/.
BibleProject. Proverbs. Wisdom Series, hosted by BibleProject, 8 June 2016, https://bibleproject.com/podcasts/wisdom-series-proverbs/.
BibleProject. Proverbs. YouTube, 31 May 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzmYV8GNAIM.
“The Shema: The Daily Declaration of Faith.” Chabad.org, www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/705353/jewish/The-Shema.htm.
“Strong’s Hebrew: 8085. שָׁמַע (shama) — heard, hear, listen.” Bible Hub, www.biblehub.com/hebrew/8085.htm. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
The secrets are in the listening, not the mere hearing. The revelations are in the seeing, not the mere looking. The love is in the feeling, not the mere touching. And success is when one makes the senses make sense.
Sounds like a good year on the horizon. Listening is far more interesting than speaking, most times any way.