The other morning I woke up with unpleasant thoughts. Not horrible, but just kind of sad, anxious, and depressing. I knew these thoughts weren’t from God, who doesn’t make evil, so I got still and listened for what God had to say. The very next thought I had was, “This is not your default setting!”
It was the perfect answer! No, sadness and anxiety are not my default setting; we have the mind of Christ, as we read in Philippians: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (2:5).
I got my phone out and looked up “default setting.” It means an automatic setting or value that is preset by the manufacturer. The Bible tells us that God created man in His image and likeness. God is our “manufacturer,” our creator. And God is Love; God is good. Love, joy, innocence, peace, wisdom, strength, abundance, and so forth are my default settings—the only settings possible for God’s man. These are the values eternally expressed in me, and in you, by God.
Whit Larsen
