Setting Your Heart

“Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”

 Life has a way of, well, getting in your face!  What is going on with the family, the job, the finances, etc., grabs our attention the minute we wake up in the morning.  These same concerns are often our last conscious thought before we go to sleep at night.

It is quite difficult to keep your mind on heavenly things.  A struggle, and yet, this message has an imperative, or commanding quality to it.  If it is a commandment, then somehow there is a way to do it.

Years ago when studying this passage, the Lord gave me an analogy that helps me apply this passage.  Our minds can operate similarly to a cruise control on a car.  When you get your speed to the point you want to travel, you turn on the cruise control and hit the “set” button.  If the car is operating as it should, the setting will not change until you put your foot on the brake.

There are times that I have been driving along and realized all of a sudden, that my foot is on the accelerator.  Without even thinking about it, I have hit the brake, or increased the speed, forgetting I had set the cruise control.  The same is true in life with me as well.  I can get up and give God a particular situation.  “Lord please take this problem with my family (my finances, my job, etc.), I cannot handle it on my own.  Please show me what to do and help me have wisdom.”  A couple of hours later, I will realize that I have mindlessly taken the concern back and am worrying on it in my mind.

The definition of worry is  "to torment oneself with, or suffer from, disturbing thoughts."   Another definition, which is particularly poignant is: "to seize; especially by the throat with the teeth and shake and mangle, as one animal does to another."

As a child, I remember riding by a gruesome sight. Two large Rottweiler dogs had a small dog in their mouths and were pulling it to death between them.  I was tormented by that scene for a long time.  I have often looked back at that event and thought how life feels like that.  I, of course, am the little dog.  The desire to follow the Lord and have things in His kingdom come to pass, are on one side pulling at me.  But the fleshly desires and concerns are the other dog, pulling me in the opposite direction.  The Lord keeps His hold on me for my good and the world tries to pull me away, to pull me apart.

Keeping my mind set on the things above is not a one-time decision.  It is one I will have to make multiple times an hour on rough days.  I have to continually hand things over to God, seeking His will and letting go of my own desired outcomes.  But even after that, I have to be on guard for thoughts and feelings that will come to drag me away from my resolve.  I war against thoughts that put me back in the position to return to my default settings- fear, worry, and self-care.

Today as you go about life, ask the Lord to help you be aware when you are changing your setting from the spiritual to the earthly. Like most things in life, with practice, this becomes easier to do.

Dear Lord, controlling this mind is a constant struggle.  Help me to give it all to You, following Your plan, Your wishes, Your wisdom.  Help me to walk in a place of trust and confidence that You have it under control and are working for my good.  In Jesus name. Amen.

Sherri