Colossians 3:1-3 - "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God...Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth...for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Every year, for as long as I have been an adult, I have chosen a verse, or verses of Scripture to start out the New Year. One of the passage I chose was from Colossians 3. To begin with, to whom is Paul referring? Let's look: "If ye then be risen with Christ:" That means he is talking to believers...Next, what are we as believers to do? "Seek those things which are above...set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." This is good advice. But what, exactly does it mean? Well, let's play "what-if." Just suppose that you got a letter from your employer telling you that they had just gone out of business, and would have to close shop. They had expended their budget and would no longer have a job for you, not to mention that they could not pay you for your services rendered. What would your reaction be? Naturally, you would be devastated. Where will you get the money to pay your mortgage, or rent? How will you clothe your family? How will you be able to feed them? What will you do? If we "set our affection on things above and not on things on the earth" then we will let Christ look after what comes next. Because? Check this out: "where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God." God is still on the throne. He is the one who has control of our lives--if we are "risen with Christ." Next part: "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." If we are dead with Christ, nothing matters. I remember hearing an illustration about that part of the verse. Fold your thumb into the palm of your right hand; close your fingers around it; take your left hand and cover your right hand. Your thumb is completely protected, isn't it? That is only a tiny illustration of your life being hidden with Christ, in God. It is just a little picture of how safe we are. Nothing can touch us, not even if we lost our electricity and could no longer access the Internet, or our phone was cut off and we could not longer reach friends and family. What if? _____ You supply the rest of the "what if's." Just remember, God is in control. Nothing else matters. With our life hidden with Christ, in God, we will survive. Here are a few more good verses to help us control our fears of what the future might hold. Proverbs 3: 5 & 6: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." And another one: Psalm 32:8: "I will instruct thee and teach the in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." In order for us to be guided with God's eye, we must stay very close. And check this verse out: Isaiah 30:21: "Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.." So, in conclusion, let us make certain we know where our affections lie. Let us make certain that our eyes are fixed on Christ above, and not on a seventeen-inch computer screen, or on a bank account, or on------ You fill in the blanks.
KEEP LOOKING UP
Keep your eyes upon Jesus. Keep looking up to the Savior.
Don't look at the troubles ahead.
'Though the stormy waters surround you,
Don't panic. Look to Jesus instead.
Keep your eyes fixed firmly on Him.
Then the cares of this world that engulfed you,
Will strangely grow rapidly dim.
© Helen Dowd