Things Above

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV)

This world is constantly busy. The word busy means “full of activity” and isn’t that exactly how life can be? It’s always buzzing with a new trend, fresh gossip and numerous different events. Everywhere we look we’re bombarded with information. Sometimes it’s hard to even get breathing room with everything that’s thrown at us incessantly. As soon as we get up our phones are chiming with messages, notifying us to scroll through social media. The first things we see every day are other people’s lives and opinions. We have work, we have school, we have family, we have friends, we have commitments and projects that are pending and everything almost seems like a blur when it goes so fast. Before we know it we're heading back to bed and we haven’t even given a moment to God.

The enemy is trying desperately to drag our attention from the One who truly deserves it; have you ever noticed that after a long day of mental and physical exertion you feel drained? Way down, deep in your spirit, there’s a feeling of emptiness regardless of whatever else may be happening. Psalm 42:1 (NIV) says, “​​As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, my God.” Man is created in the image of God and our spirits yearn for Him the way our stomachs groan with hunger when we don’t eat enough food. We spend too much time as a society fixated on superficialities, focused on things that can easily be replaced when in fact we should turn our attention elsewhere.

The Bible tells us to “set our hearts on things above” it also claims, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matthew 6:21 (NIV). Too often our treasures are stored up in the wrong places: in our looks, in money, in friends. We have to be decided that our treasure is found in God and not in the fleeting pleasures of the world. It’s too easy to get caught up in everyday passions and lose sight of what’s important; to resist temptation and keep our hearts set on God we have to study His word daily and decidedly live our lives to please Him. Believing and keeping our minds set on things above, determined to do His will continually is the only way we won't be pressured by the world to conform, to compromise and to settle. Keeping our hearts and minds fixed on the right things cleanses and renews us so that we can lose earthly desires and conform to the image of Christ. As believers especially, we have a responsibility to be the light of the world and to follow our Saviour one-mindedly and faithfully.

A hymn I particularly like is titled “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” (originally written by Helen Howarth Lemmel in 1918) that reads, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace” I think this rings so true especially in times like these when the world seems to shout so loud and we don’t know where to turn. Jesus is always the answer. Always. He will give you rest when you need it and He is unchanging. When we tune out the world with its ever-changing opinions we tap into a new relationship with God. One that’s not constrained by fear and self-consciousness but one where we can be free to be ourselves with our Father and trust Him to take all of our burdens. We must set our hearts and minds on things above if we ever want to have true peace and comfort. True to His word, when we focus our attention and energy on Jesus, the things of earth grow dim, they lose their allure and are exposed for the deceptions they are. When we trust God enough to follow Him and only Him, we realise that nothing and no one else is deserving of our admiration.

Romans 6:6 (NIV) declares, “​​For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” We cannot be indecisive when it comes to following God. He asks that we make Him the King of our hearts and rid ourselves of all that doesn’t glorify Him. We have to stop letting worldly desires control us because we have been given the power to resist temptation through Christ. I believe that when we set our hearts on things above and fill our minds with things pleasing to God instead of the rubbish the world tries to feed us, we lose the appetite we once had for sin because we know better. We know that all the devil tempts us with are lies and facades and the only One worth following is our Father. We can escape sin and self-effort and be free to make good, godly decisions. At the very least we'll have enough discernment to know the consequences of our actions.

If you have given your life to God remember that the Son has already set you free and there’s no reason for a child of God to be bound by the devil’s chains. You have power and authority to seize the life you deserve but you can’t do it when you’re hypnotised by sin. Pray and ask God to free you, ask the Holy Spirit to give you the wisdom to make good choices and the grace to carry them out. Remember to lean on God at all times, John 15:5 (NIV) says, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” We are nothing without Him, so keep your eyes on Him and trust Him as He leads you to true freedom. God wants the best for His children, He has a remarkable and unique plan for your life - if You set your heart and mind on Him He will faithfully show You the way to go. When He instructs you, follow and obey so that you may never again be in bondage to the devil’s lies. Submit to His teaching and may God bless you and His Spirit strengthen you so that you can see true victory in Jesus’ name!