"Set Your Minds. . ."

"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth" (Col. 3:2). "Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit" (Rom. 8:5). These verses have been running through my mind the past couple of days.

What does it mean to "set your mind" on something? I believe that this means that my mind is so consumed with something that there is no room for anything else. So that means that for my mind to be "set" on things that are above, my mind must be consumed with "things that are above" (ie: God and His Word). Oh, how I fall short of this! I always consume my mind with things that don't matter: present circumstances, what other people think of me, how I am going to get the things done that I need to get done, etc. What I SHOULD be filling my mind (and consequently my heart) on are the things that DO matter: God's Word and who HE is.

So what is the difference between the days when I am (rarely) focused on my Savior and His Word, and those days (almost all of them) that I am focused on myself and on what is going on around me? I think that the difference is how I start off my day and the steps I take during the day. I have found that those rare days when I am focused on God's Word and on pleasing Him, are the days that I have started my day with MEANINGFUL time in His Word (not just reading because someone might ask me), and have gone through the day consistently reminding myself of what God's Word says. I have found that I MUST take every free moment that my mind has, and use those moments to rehearse God's Word in my memory so that I am focusing my mind on "things that are [. . .] true [. . .]" (Phil. 4:8)

Lord, help me to focus my mind on You and Your Word. I cannot possibly do that on my own. I need Your help desperately! Help me to love You so much that everything else is overshadowed in comparison!