Minds Set Right

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."

Colossians 3:1-2

In a sermon I heard many years ago, the pastor urged his hearers to consider how our perspective should be ordered as children of God.  Rather than being at the mercy of our circumstances, emotions or feelings, we are to remain grounded in the sovereignty and goodness of God in every season of life.  Unlike a ship adrift that is carried by wind or currents, we have an anchor for our souls by faith in Jesus Christ our Saviour.  We can see the waves and feel them beating upon us, yet we can remain immoveable, fruitful and abounding in the work of the LORD.

He used an illustration of the difference Jesus makes in our lives, not to pump us up that we can feel "in control" during the storms of this life, but to know that whatever happens God remains on the throne over this world and us personally.  My takeaway from the message was to ask myself, "Are you a thermometer or a thermostat?  Do you register or regulate?"  A thermometer passively displays the ambient temperature, but a thermostat is set in an air-conditioning system to change the temperature of the air.  Thermometers and people both register, but as we submit ourselves to God's rule in faith we can make a positive impact that will be felt by others--like an unexpected cool breeze on a sweltering day.

It is important in the thermostat analogy to recognise it is God who is established over all things, and He is the one who sets us right by the Gospel.  In response to our glorious God and Saviour and our good standing in Him we are called to purposely seek Him and to set our minds on things above.  By faith in Jesus we are enabled to stand by the power of the Holy Spirit even in the midst of trials and troubles.  It is natural for us to be mindful of earthly, temporal things because we continue to live in perishing bodies on the earth.  Reading through the Psalms of late I can say David was both a thermometer and thermostat:  the trials and persecution he faced registered in his heart, prompted him to seek the LORD, and then his heart was fixed (set) to wait on the LORD with the firm conviction he would see the goodness of God in the land of the living.

How about you?  Do you tend to be a thermometer or a thermostat?  Should there come a day when the pains or difficulties of life no longer register in us at all, it may be because we are dead!  By God's grace He has given us feelings, emotions and desires, and it is good for us to seek God and His wisdom so He might establish us by faith and reliance upon Him.  Our LORD regulates the fiery trials He allows, and may His testing result in our faith growing exceedingly, our love abounding, and entering into the rest made possible by our Saviour Jesus.  May this overcoming, conquering faith in Christ bring great glory to our LORD who is the Rock of Salvation our lives are built upon.