above – Far More Life

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)

You may read this verse and think, “But earthly things need our attention!” We need to eat and sleep. Many of us need to go to work to earn money. If we have children, we need to meet their physical, emotional, and mental needs. Other relationships need attention, too. We may need to mow the yard, shovel the walk, and tend our gardens. Appliances break. Our vehicles need maintenance. Our living space needs to be cleaned. We need to replenish our resources. We must think about these things and many more; they cannot be ignored while we think about “things above” and hope God sends angels to do the actual work for us.

But this passage is not telling us to ignore our responsibilities or the necessities of life. Rather it gives instruction about our heart, which is our command center. Biblically speaking, our heart is the source of our will, intellect and feelings. It determines our values, motivation, and mindset. It tells us to know what is most important, which then shapes our goals, dreams, decisions, and priorities. These verses are challenging us to think about the big picture — the foundation on which our lives are built — not just the needs and challenges of today. That is essential for far more life.

Here is a sampling of Bible verses that provide specific instruction about our hearts:

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23, NIV)
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:111, NIV)
For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (2 Chronicles 16:9, NIV)
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21, NIV)

We are born with a heart of stone that is spiritually hardened and lifeless (Ezekiel 36:26). It is set on earthly things and does not know or desire God. But God offers us a new, soft heart that is set on heavenly things and eternally connected to Him. But even with our new heart, our mind is still full of the old thoughts, plans, and feelings. We will spend the rest of our lives uncovering the damage done by our old heart and experiencing the healing available through our new heart. We cannot change our old heart and its desires; instead we must learn to let our new heart control more areas of our mind, intellect, and feelings. That is how set our heart on heavenly things.

We can test our heart to determine whether we are listening to the part set on earthly things or the part set on heavenly things. One question that tests this is, “Whose kingdom am I building: my own or God’s?” At the times our desire is to acquire all the wealth, possessions, status, power, experiences, and pleasure we can, we are listening to our old heart and focused on earthly things. But when our desire is to use the things of this life — our wealth, possessions, status, power, experiences, and pleasure — to know God better and introduce others to Him, we know we are being ruled by our new hearts and are focused on heavenly things.

It is not what we are doing that reveals our heart, but why we are doing it. Two people can perform the same action but be building different kingdoms. We can do anything — even spiritual activities — with a focus on ourselves or a focus on God. For this reason, God’s Word contains other verses that help us determine where our heart is set:

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18, NIV)
What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? (Matthew 16:26, Mark 8:36, Luke 9:25, NIV)
For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (I John 2:17, NIV)
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:25, NIV)

When our heart is set on heavenly things, our life is not about ourselves. We can definitely appreciate our blessings and enjoy God’s creation, but we are not focused on acquiring more toys, experiences, recognition. We see the world as our mission field rather than our playground. We think about the eternal impact of what we do rather than the short-term benefit. We recognize physical death is the gateway to our eternal home rather than the end of our existence. We accept that things do not always make sense because we do not have access to every detail of the master plan. We trust God’s character and His Word as our guidance rather than our own understanding and experiences. Focusing on heavenly things brings us peace, hope, joy, and purpose. It brings us far more life!

Sisters,
What earthly things compete with God for your heart’s attention?
In what areas of life is your new heart in control? In which areas does your mind revert to old heart patterns?
What helps you recognize when you are building your own kingdom instead of God’s?
Thank God for faithfully giving you far more life, no matter how many times you have to reset your heart on heavenly things.
-Shari

Sometimes our life circumstances are dark clouds that overshadow us and feel like more than we can bear. Well-meaning people try to comfort us, often by saying, “God will not give you more than you can handle.” But this can lead us to doubt God’s goodness or believe we have done something wrong to deserve trouble. It robs us of far more life.

I think that sentiment is a misquote of this Bible verse:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (I Corinthians 10:13, NIV)

What God actually said is He will not give His children more temptation than they can handle. If you have a relationship with God through Jesus, He will never allow you to be in a situation where sin is your only escape; He will always provide a righteous way out of temptation.

While that is a relief, does it mean that God allows more than we can handle to come our way? Consider this Scripture passage:

We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. (2 Corinthians 1:8b-11a, NIV)

Paul felt like his situation was more than he could handle. In fact, he thought he was going to die. But he states a perspective on his difficulties often eludes us: “…This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God…on Him we have set our hope…” There is a higher purpose: God wants to draw us to far more life in Him above the clouds!

Let’s be honest: we are proud, independent people. We put a lot of faith in our own abilities. This makes sense, because there is a lot that we can do in our own strength. God has created us in His image with incredibly powerful minds, reasoning abilities, and creativity. But we are not all-knowing or all-powerful. We cannot do everything. We need God’s help. Far more life recognizes that God is our ultimate source of hope and help, especially when we are facing more than we can handle. And we will face more than we can handle in this life.

Consider these verses Paul wrote earlier in the chapter:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV)

When you face storms in life, do you think of it as a call to seek God’s comfort? As I write this post, my niece is having a stormy week. When she feels fear, hurt, or insecurity she toddles over to a trusted adult and lifts her arms, seeking to be picked up. She snuggles as close as she can and accepts our comfort. When she is filled, she wiggles out of our arms and toddles off to play. Like a toddler, God wants us to seek comfort from Him during our storms. He loves to fill us up and give us what we need to keep going.

This verse points out another truth: experiencing trouble enables us to relate to others. And turning to God for comfort equips us to share the power of a relationship with Christ with those suffering apart from Him. This has prompted me to pray this during some of the hardest times of my life: “Lord, I do not like this storm and wish I was not in it. But I trust You will use it to help me connect with someone else and offer them the comfort You are giving me now.” God has been faithful to make this happen and allow me to see good come from hardship.

Notice the verse says God comforts us in all our trouble so we can comfort others in any trouble. We are tempted to think only those who have experienced similar storms can comfort us. Sometimes that creates a special connection, but the comfort God gives is able to transcend a lack of specific experience.

How do we face more than we can bear with far more life?

Far more life is admitting we have more than we can handle and crying out to God for help.
Far more life is seeking His comfort.
Far more life is placing our hope in God, His written Word, and wise counsel to guide us through our challenges.
Far more life is renewing our mind by replacing worry and fear with His peace.
Far more life is offering God’s comfort to others.
Far more life is remembering that God will more than make up for our struggles in this life when we are with Him in Heaven. (2 Corinthians 4:17, John 16:33)

God will allow more than you can handle in your life. But He loves you and offers you hope, help, comfort, and more. Far more life allows Him to lift you above the clouds. What a wonderful place to be!

Sisters,
Have you believed God will not allow more than you can bear? How has that hurt your relationship with Him?
When you face hardship, what temptations come with it?
What barriers do you face in turning to Him for comfort?
Is there someone with whom God wants you to share His comfort?
Fly above the clouds this week as you find far more life in Him!
-Shari

Tag: above

Set Your Heart

Above the Clouds