The world has a way of getting us down. It fills us with distractions, temptations, and entertainment, it promises us happiness but never fully delivering. It’s easy to become weighed down and overwhelmed looking at the state of the world, as it is full of corruption and confusion that surrounds us.
When we focus on earthly things our eyes forget to look above. We forget the blessings and promises we have through our adoption from God. Our satisfaction in Christ slips away as well.
Colossians 3 explores what it means to set your mind on things above, enabling us to experience the true joy the Father wants to lavish on us. When we set our eyes on Him, we are better able to listen for His voice, and be guided through this life with hope.
The Bible gives us clear instructions. We are not to linger our old habits of fear, sin, and discouragement, as we were unbelievers. Instead we are called to lay these things down that hinder us and through the power of the Holy Spirit step into a new life.
Our desire to look to earthly things instead of heavenly things comes from two flaws in thinking. We either looks to earthly things because we think they will serve us somehow – such as bringing us comfort, identity, pleasure, etc… or we look to earthly things because we forget who we serve. The first step toward setting your mind on things above is to rid yourselves of your old self and turn away from your sins that accompany it.
Every time I ask God for forgiveness, I work on never doing that sin again. If I’m not trying to turn away from the sin in my life, why am I asking God for forgiveness in the first place.
Sin keeps us from having a relationship with God and keeps our eyes on lowly things. We cannot be fully in a relationship with God’s and remain part of the system of the sin we’ve been delivered from. Imagine trying to climb a ladder with heavy weights tied to your ankles. You would be dragged back down with every step you intend to take. The ways of heaven and earth are opposed to each other. We cannot achieve a heavenly mindset while we are persisting in our earthly actions.
Getting rid of sin in our life cannot be done in our own strength. If we try to do it in our own power, we will always fail. God gives us the power to reject sin and temptations through the empowering of the Holy Spirit transform our minds through His Word (2 Peter 1:3). Reading God’s Word helps us to put on our new self, which makes us justified through Christ.
When we focus on things of this world, our peace is stolen from us. We become so wrapped up in the transient things that we forget the eternal foundation and unshifting identity of Christ. The world shakes and shifts, but. Christ is our strong tower (our rock), our refuge, and our peace (Psalm 91:2).
Isaiah 26:3 states that the Lord will keep us in “perfect peace” when we focus our minds on Him and trust in Him. Perfect peace is what everyone strives for on earth, yet it’s impossible when we focus on earthly things. It’s possible when we set our minds on the things above.
Being thankful to God may not come easily in all situations in life. Yet we need to be keenly aware of every good thing that comes from God. We are all deserving of His wrath for our rebellion against Him, for violating His laws and departing from what is true and right. However, through Christ’s atoning sacrifice, He made salvation.
We should set our eyes, hearts, and mind on the things above, and run the race set before that leads to victory.
From Pity to Praise 