Year in Review - Friday
TODAY’S VERSE
Matthew 26:39b
“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (ESV)
If you’ve been off for the holidays, you’ve probably felt this: you wake up, grab your phone, and for a moment, you’re not sure what day it is. Your schedule is off. Your routines are off—maybe your coffee is in the fridge, and your cereal’s in the microwave. Yet, instinctively, you’ll find yourself checking emails and scrolling socials.
That’s muscle memory.
Or maybe you’ve spent a week traveling, surrounded by family, playing with new Christmas gifts, assembling toys that required far more patience than advertised. At some point, something small goes wrong, and before you even think about it, you react! You snap. You withdraw. You cope the way you always do.
That’s muscle memory.
Spiritually, we have muscle memory, too. We like to think that when life gets hard, we’ll rise to the occasion. But more often, we run to what we’ve trained ourselves to trust.
As we step into 2026, you will face challenges you didn’t schedule. Pressure you didn’t anticipate. Pain you didn’t choose. So it is wise to decide now what you will do then.
So ask yourself, when life gets hard, where do you run to? Do you run to your Bible or a bottle? Do you run to worship music or work? Do you run to prayer or the party scene?
Next, ask, when life gets hard, who do you run to? Do you run to your spouse or someone else of the opposite sex? Do you run to your biblical community or your bar buddies? Do you run to your Savior, or try to save yourself?
If we’ve been paying attention to Jesus in Gethsemane this week, one thing stands out. It is clear where He runs to: His Father. Yes, He asks God to change His circumstances, but we see what matters most to Him. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (verse 39).
The lesson for us becomes unmistakable: When pressure hits, our response should be surrender and dependence. After all, if we can trust God with eternity, we can trust Him in everything.
APPLICATION
Before this year brings its first hard moment, decide where you will run. Write down one specific, faithful response, habit, or phrase you will practice when life gets heavy.
PRAYER
Jesus, help me build my muscle memory of dependence on You. My default tendencies and habits often take me further from You and more focused on myself. Help me to always run to You. Whatever the situation, help me always run to You.
