Reflections

The Right Mindset

I've discovered that I often could care less about God's big plan, for the world or for me. Usually, I'm completely caught up in the here and now, my mind is preoccupied with it and I can't see beyond it. In the mornings I think about the day before me and the possible challenges I might face at work, or the things I want to get done around the house that night. I focus on the weeks and weekends and how busy each is going to be or how I'm looking forward to spending time with Scott once it is the weekend, or once fill-in-the-blank. Usually, the farthest I look into the future is a couple of years from now, wondering what I will do for my occupation or if I will go back to school for something. I am happy when everything goes my way, I can become moody when things don't. I am focused mostly on me in the here and now. If you are like me well, I'm afraid there is something very wrong with our mindsets!

In Colossians 3:1-2 Paul writes "1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Or as The Message translation of the Bible puts it: "1-2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. 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—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective." You see, the world is so much bigger than us! When we are focused on whatever is right in front of us we fail to see the "grand design." We chase after meaningless, worldly things though in the end they gain us nothing, if not bitterness.

It is important to think bigger than the here and now when we consider the things we desire for ourselves, when things are going well, and when life is challenging. When I desire things, an "eternal outlook" helps to keep me from desiring/idolizing/worshipping worldly things that really aren't that good for me and will turn to "dust" (Ecclesiastes!). When times are good, this outlook helps me to keep things in perspective and reminds me what I am here for, to do God's will and bless others. When times are tough having an eternal mindset can make all the difference.

Granted, I haven't experienced the tough times that some have, but I know that it is crucial during these times to follow the advice in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 "¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." First, in verse 16, I love that if we lean on God he gives us all the strength we need and he, The Living Water (John 4:10), The Bread of Life (John 6:35), renews and sustains us through difficult times. The struggles we experience are only momentary, and as Christians, what waits for us in eternity "far outweighs them all." This means that if you put the worst things that happen to you, or anyone, in this life here on earth on one side of a balance and the glory of eternal life in God's presence on the other side of the balance there is no competition! Or as Paul writes in Romans 8:18 "¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."and Paul was definitely a man who knew what suffering was. The promise of eternity with God is too great, God's just too awesome! Praise God!

When I look back on the tougher times in my life I can see benefits that have resulted from each one. In middle school, I struggled through some hard times and at that time I wasn't too happy with God for allowing these struggles, but now I believe God put these struggles in place to prevent me from going down a certain detrimental path that I am sure I would have otherwise. Then in highschool, God addressed what caused me so much pain in middle school, and blessed me with something much greater than I had imagined as an answer to my prayers. Thank you God! I have seen similar things happen in others lives as well, where God denies us something, or gives us hardship, only for things to come out much better than they would have otherwise. Remember, we can only see a teeny, tiny, microscopic amount of what is really going on and what is really going to best for us.

As I make an effort to shift my mindset to focus more on the eternal, I need to remember that "in all things God is working for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose . . . to be conformed to the likeness of his son." Romans 8:28-29. Though things may not be stellar, God is working for my ultimate good and that good is to do God's will as he conforms me to the likeness of his Son. I have been, and will continue to be "refined like silver in a furnace of clay" as "Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time." (Daniel 11:35) and while being refined isn't a whole lot of fun, I have already seen the benefits of time when I was "refined" in college. I can think of three very significant things that resulted from it, all of them positive. You see, if I adopt an eternal mindset I can have patience and I can bear through tough times knowing that God has my best interest in mind. Instead of hopelessness I will have hope. "⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:5 Along with this mindset, let us also keep in mind Romans 8:38 "³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."