What Is My Default? [Day 12]
By Dale Wilson
Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. (Psalm 118:5-8 ESV)
I had a basketball coach in high school who firmly believed that the best-conditioned team had the best chance of success. We would run drill after drill and exercise after exercise to the point of exhaustion. Our muscles would be aching, clamoring for respite from the constant sprints, jumps, and squats.
I remember so clearly one practice where our coach had us do a defensive drill where we would assume a low defensive squat position and hold it until he blew his whistle. Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours! And while we sat there in our seat-less chair, he told us something profound:
“When you’re tired, you resort to whatever feels natural. If your default defensive stance is bad, then that’s what you’re going to do when you get tired. If your default defensive stance is good, then you’re going to have good defense, even when you’re tired.”
I thought about that a lot, not just for basketball but for my life. To me, it’s summed up by the question, “What is my default?”
Often when life gets hard, I notice a tendency to pull away from God and try to do it all myself. I stop communicating with God because I “don’t have time,” I get angry and frustrated, I get anxious and stressed because of all the change and transition.
My default is to pull away from God instead of run toward Him.
This Scripture reminds me that in my distress I should call on the Lord. I should run to Him for refuge. I should desperately seek His face because His refuge is greater than any solace this world can provide me. When the Lord is on my side, I will not fear.
How much would my life be different if, in times of trouble, God was always my default?
The actions we take every moment of every day train our mind, will, and emotions to either imitate Jesus or imitate the world. Our daily prayers, journaling, devotions, forgiveness, fasting, and other disciplines that we do are creating the muscle memory of seeking God. And in times of hardship, we discover our default.
Think about times of hardship you’ve experienced and what behavior you defaulted to. Was it toward God or away from Him? Ask God to reveal areas that need to be healed or corrected.
Prayer
God, I pray that in every moment of life, You would be my default. That in hard times I would immediately run to You with outstretched arms and seek Your will and Your favor. God, we recognize that Your plans are so much higher than ours, and through trials we are refined into an even clearer picture of Your Son Jesus. Help us to trust You like children and humbly submit ourselves to Your purpose for our life. Amen.
