Default Setting
What is your default setting? Are you naturally even-keeled or easily animated? Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Are you boisterous or quiet? The list of possibilities is endless, but in many ways questions like this paint a picture of your natural personality and disposition. They do not, however, accurately get to the heart of the question as I mean it and as I invite you to consider it today.
God’s creativity is endless, and nowhere is that more on display than in how He has designed the objects of His affection—you and me. He has made us both energetic and calm. He’s made us loud and quiet. He’s made us social bugs and homebodies. He’s made us people of action and bookworms. He’s made us impulsive and steady. There are endless juxtapositions to add to this list, and He has designed them all. At first glance, it appears so inconsistent and random.
And yet, there is a default setting to which each of each is called. No matter the unique personality mix He has bestowed upon you, He has also given you a default setting that will enable the impact of your life to be certain in the end. This default setting is described in Psalm 1:1-3:
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
The end of this passage promises what so many of us are looking for—a life’s impact that is consistent and impactful.
But what is it that leads to the realization of that promise? What is it that allows all those who walk or stand or sit to produce fruit and achieve impact? What is the common thread and, yes, the default setting?
The answer is exceedingly simple but wholly transformational—the default setting that lends power to every personality is an absolute fixation on and fidelity to the Word of the Lord.
His law should be the root of your delight.
It should guide your thoughts during the day.
It should be the substance of your dreams at night.
In other words, it should be your default setting.
In many ways, our world changes at an astounding rate. News, politics, health, relationships, and more are constantly changing and pelting us with competing stimuli. If you are not rooted in something consistent, you will be thrown off course.
But you, my friend, have a default setting. It is a setting we are called to share no matter the differences in our personalities or giftings. It is a setting of rootedness in his Word and His law that injects life into our being whether we walk or stand or sit.
Where is your delight?
On what does your mind fixate?
Our God has created billions of unique human expressions of His character. But each of us is offered a default setting to unleash His will in our life. It is setting of absolute obsession with and fidelity to His law. Recommit to that setting today, won’t you!
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.