Dear friend, Get in God’s Word.
If you read nothing else, stop this email right here and do that—read your Bible—then my work is done.
I started the year off the opposite. I started 2026 off immersed in Chat GPT. It was a series of unbiblical, and dare-I-say non-faith-based, fixations:
Fixation # 1. My word of the year. There is nothing in the Christian faith or tradition that prompts believers to pick a word, mantra, or affirmation to guide us through a calendar. God’s word is the only word. And it is comprehensive and profound, yet simple for a child to understand.
All that said, God has blessed me greatly in my meditations on His truth throughout the years. So while it is not wrong or sinful, the WOTY can still become a distraction, as it did for me.
I overly fixated on finding a meaningful word for 2026. I wanted it to be unexpected and impressive, so I could “ooh” and “aah” over how clever it was for the next 12 months.
Which led me to…
Fixation #2: Social Media. My love/hate relationship with instagram has more seasons than Grey’s Anatomy. While Social media is also not a sin, persay, it still trips me up.
This month, when I hopped on my Stories to get feedback about Word of the Year, I got nothing. The algorithm (or perhaps the Lord) seemed to prevent my friends and followers from viewing or responding. Which landed me in a deep dive into…
Fixation #3: Chat GPT. To be exact, I used Google’s Gemini. This is new for me. I have used AI maybe 6 times in my life. But, I wanted clever, informative feedback, so to the AI magi I turned.
I was immediately hooked. Unlike traditional search engines, AI strokes your ego with every answer or suggestion. It made me feel SO interesting, wise, and impressive. “Great prompt Becky” and “I can tell you really thought this through” fed my unhealthy need for affirmation and mirroring that I have been trying to silence for years.
Again, consulting AI may not be an outright sin, but turning to it, and FEEDING off its approval of me, is certainly a spiritual compromise.
Ignoring the warning signs, I spent two hours with my new best friend, Gemini. She gave me clever ideas and compliments, but every time I asked for help finding a specific verse, she steered me in the wrong direction. No prompt I gave helped find this verse that was in the back of my mind.
Frustrated, I turned to a simple google search. Still no clarity on the Bible verse. Also when I double checked the unique ancient and foreign “word” gemini suggested for my WOTY, I discovered the definition of that word WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than what I was going for!
At that point, I was disgusted. Annoyed by my phone, my self, and the time I wasted, I opened my Bible. At random. You know, the thing good theologians aren’t supposed to do.
And when I tell you I cried, I mean it was a full overhaul of emotions.
There, 1/2 way down the page I was reading in my print, Chronological Bible, was the verse I was looking for. I thought I was looking for a Psalm, turns out it is a song featured in the writings of Samuel.
It was right there! God was just waiting for me to stop turning to world for answers and open my Bible. That is where He always reveals the hidden things, and more importantly Himself, to us.
His Word “is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12 CSB
So, if you are still reading this, will you join me in a new fixation on the WORD of God this 2026?
Praying for you,
Becky
Ps: visit this post for the back story on the verse I am meditating on right now. (Not really a Word of the Year, but certainly a truth to ruminate on)