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. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4.
I remember tree planting back in the summer I graduated from High School. We were in the northern back woods of Alberta and I was in a large, football-field size section of clear-cut forest when I became completely disoriented. I planted a row of trees, turned around at the end of the clearing to plant a row back to the other side and, suddenly could not recognize anything. The whole area looked like I was seeing it for the first time. I could not tell where I was, which direction I needed to go to the collective meeting place. I had no idea where I was. It was pretty unsettling. The temptation would be to panic and then try and strike out to find something familiar but the training they gave us suddenly came back to mind. If you suddenly get disoriented, stay where you are. Don’t go off trying to find someone. Don’t guess how to get out. Stay where you are and they will come looking for you. If I stayed in an area where they dropped us off they would eventually come and find us. If I leave, no one may be able to figure out which direction I headed off.
To settle things, I went back across the clearing to the other side, found the rest of the stash of seedlings we were to plant and carried on planting in that area until I was done. I stopped, looked up into the sky as if trying to get my bearings but just prayed and waited until someone came to find me. About 20 minutes later I heard the engine of a four-wheeler humming down the path and some of the team came looking for me. They asked what I was doing and I told them I had lost my bearings and did not want to head out until they found me.
It is easy for us to lose our bearings in the world we are living in. We can think we are carrying out life according to our responsibilities, be productive and well on our way to “getting things done.” But it is an unsettling experience to suddenly look up and feel like you have no idea how you got to where you are, nothing looks familiar and you are not sure what direction to go next. It is even more unsettling when we look up from our activities and wonder how our spiritual pathway can suddenly feel very unfamiliar.
This reminder to “keep on setting our minds on things above” is always a way to keep from getting spiritually disoriented or at least a way to correct our disorientation. It can happen and blindside us before we even know it is coming. This spiritual dysphoria can be rectified when we look up into the heavens and get our bearings from Christ (who is seated at the right hand of the Father). If we keep our eyes fixed on Him, then we will never have trouble getting perspective of where we are in life and what direction to go next. When we lose control or confidence in our journey, it is vital to get reconnected to the one who has His fingerprints on every step of our journey. We can have confidence that when we lose perspective, Christ will always find us, not the other way around.
Pastor Brad
