If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:1-2 ESV
I just love this verse. It is essential to our relationship with the only One who can bring us lasting peace, so it is essential to finding peace in our marriages. These words help us to understand that the disruption of our own inner peace centers in the ‘mind’, not the body or in external circumstances…and not your spouse. Our peace is determined by what we set our minds on. Read that truth again. It’s not what’s happening to us that destroys our peace. It’s our thoughts about what’s happening that wreck us.
The enemy can destroy our peace in a moment with a simple “What if?” question. “What if the treatment doesn’t work?”, “What if he leaves?”, “What if the counseling doesn’t work?”, “What if she is unfaithful?”, “What if he never comes back?”, “What if I fail?” “What if my kids walk away from God?” Satan knows that questions fill our mind and heart with chaos, and he’s at the ready to tempt us every single time. When we allow these questions to roll around in our mind, the enemy finds a foothold to destroy our relationship.
But in this verse, God reminds us how to battle the enemy—we fix our minds on Him and we trust Him. Recognize the temptation to fear as the enemy, and command him to stop. Choose to trust in the sovereignty of God, choose to trust that He is in control over everything that happens in your life and your marriage, choose to trust that He has a plan for good, and He will chase the chaos away. When we trust, He replaces confusion and questions with peace.
Our peace dissipates when we set our minds on the things of the world, or on what we see in front of us. If we want His perfect peace—the kind of peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7), then we need to choose to fix our minds on Him. God knows the temptations that exist in this broken world to draw our mind off Him so He reminds us over and over again in Scripture to set our minds on Him. When those fearful or anxious thoughts begin to creep in, when those angry or bitter feelings sweep over us, when despair tries to pull us down into the pit, we can say no to them and redirect our thoughts to Him.
As my husband and I have walked through seasons of devastating loss or incredibly painful trials, I have been overwhelmed at the peace He has given us during those times. It doesn’t mean we don’t feel the pain of living in this broken world, but it does mean we re-direct each other to the sovereignty and the faithfulness of our Lord when we falter. We don’t jump into the pit when the other is slipping, we call to mind His stories from our past, and we choose to set our minds on Him.
When you choose to follow His Word, when you choose to act in obedience, He is faithful to His Word. He promises us peace and He delivers. It’s not easy to set our minds on the things above when we are weak from trials – our minds want to race away with anxious or despairing thoughts, we want to shout in anger or frustration. We have to guard our thoughts with His Word to know His peace. Some days it takes great effort to continually capture our thoughts and bring them back to Christ, but He is always there with His peace as the response.
We choose what we think about, and He plainly says to set our minds on Him. Meditate on His glory, on His grace and His mercy, on all of the blessings He has bestowed on us—just set your mind on Him. The place where our minds need to be fixed is on God alone.
Press on ~ you are loved 💗
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