Necessary Placement

And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth. Colossians 3:2 Amplified Bible

I like how the Message puts this verse. “Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ.” I cannot afford to let my guard down when it comes to the affections of my heart and the meditations of my mind. For the minute I stop filtering my thoughts through the grid of God’s truth I set myself up for a downward spiral. The minute I allow the enemy to distract me by dwelling on the thoughts he presents to me I am in trouble. Those things I spend my time and energy thinking on will either strengthen me or weaken me in my body, soul, and mind.

Just like the children of Israel kept living out their days in a cycle mode of idolatry, captivity, repentance, deliverance, and rest, the cycles of my mind can spin out of control as well. For me, it works like this. I take in truth and stand in that for a while. The enemy comes along and introduces any number of thoughts to me. At first I see the attacks and proceed to rebuke them. The trouble comes when I let down my guard and begin to consider the thoughts. Not for a moment. Not for a while. But rather for unlimited time. It is an “all you can think” buffet! I have now set my mind on his distorted views and interpretations and very quickly I am filled with hopelessness, discouragement, self-loathing, and helplessness. The sense of abandonment by people and invisibility to God sets in and I find myself in quite a mental and spiritual mess. As if that is not enough, the enemy then begins to condemn me for being in such a place. I am in further trouble if he can convince me this is all my own doing.

My deliverance comes as God reveals to me that the enemy is at work and I will only regain my strength and footing by renouncing the lies, voicing the truth, and once again setting my mind, heart, and affections on God! This includes confessing my lack of trust and acknowledgement of who God really is. It also includes once again proclaiming Him to be my only true Source, Help, and Hope.

Father, my dark thoughts have once again given way to the light of You! I don’t stand a chance of surviving apart from connecting with You, relying on You, and looking to You. Hold me, help me, and heal me. Amen.