Set our minds….what does it mean to set your mind? Benjamin Franklin often said, “You can do anything you set your mind to.” So can we conclude that when we “set our mind” on something, we are deciding to focus on that thing in order to achieve a goal or an outcome? 

Paul is credited for writing Colossians and he is encouraging us to prioritize what we think and how we act so that we might reach a desired goal. It is believed Paul was in prison when he wrote this book, and yet he decided he would think about things above, eternal things, and how he could stay in the right mindset so that he could continue to honor God. In order to be able to do that, we must take hold of our thoughts and direct them. Often I allow my thoughts to wander off into never never land, as I trail behind them like a Disney character. Just this past weekend, Zane and I had a day that we just seemingly could not quiet the distractions in our minds. This led to aimlessly dawdling around, similar to a child who is dodging the chore he or she has been assigned. But as Zane and I talked about where we were and what we needed, we encouraged one another to stay the course. We really do need others in this life to help remind and encourage us to stay the course as we set our minds on what is most important. 

There is a children’s book titled, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst. Seems like an odd title for a children’s book, yet I have given that title to many of my days. Days that I started out giving to the Lord as I sat and read my Bible and prayed that my life would give Him glory. Yet I found myself walking through days I did not wish to participate in. Yesterday in fact seemed to take a turn that felt crushing and unlike what I had hoped for earlier in the morning. I had a large to-do list for the week, and unexpectedly, I found myself not having to go in to work on a Monday due to my boss’s unfortunate illness. A gift, I thought. A day that was needed to check off some of my pending tasks. But, once again a phone call changed the trajectory of my day. Normally I would begin to sympathize with our book friend, Alexander, but instead, this time I welcomed the intrusion and asked the Lord to use this for eternal gain. (Maybe at almost 70, I am finally  learning to lean into God.) Those hours were hard, but I unselfishly invested them into someone else and prayed they would make a difference. God quieted my mind and moved my hands to physically pour love into another one of his children.

Earthly distractions can pull us away from the eternal, while divine distractions can launch us into what God had in mind for us all along. The key is how we “set our mind.” 

I have ADHD related memory issues and often must remind myself of God’s goodness and sovereignty over my life and my thoughts. I speak out loud, “God is good, God is good at being God, God is good to me, God is good to my family, God is good to Northpark,” etc. Just recently, on an Instagram reel, I heard a speaker say, “do not speak a prophecy of doom over your future.” I am a “but, what if this goes wrong” kind of girl through and through. The past has been brutal in many ways, and it’s taught me that outlook. But Jesus is teaching me a new way. I am choosing to set my mind on things above, things I cannot see, things that are eternal, because after all, isn’t that faith? 

So I trust God, and if I trust Him, I must allow Him to set my mind. He is the one that can help me see things through a new and broader lens. A lens that helps me discern when a “distraction” is divine or destructive. 

Capture your thoughts, my friends, and trust the ONLY One worthy of perfectly handling all your todays and tomorrows, through the good, the bad, and everything in between.

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Today’s devotion provided by:
Zane & Sherrie Smitley