May We Set Our HEARTS Upon You

This quote and verse have been on my heart lately. (And for those of you who know me, I really am not trying to make a pun.)

• "The more objects you set your heart upon, the more thorns there are to tear your peace of mind to shreds."-Spurgeon
• "Set your affections on things above,  not on things on the earth." Colossians 3:2

Both recently and not so recently, I have watched close friends of mine struggle with burdensome issues that stem from not setting their "affections on things above." The Holy Spirit has guided some conversations about these issues with them and everyone seems to say "I want to do what is right and I want to trust God can take care of this, but I can't. I don't want to stop this issue." How many of us believers battle the Romans 7 battle every single day? 
    
    "So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
    And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
    I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin." Romans 7:14-25


My first instinct is to scream, "Wake up believers! Don't you see you are letting sin rule your life? You do not have your eyes fixed upon the Lord at all!" However, the more I begin to think on the situation, the more I remember I have been there. I couldn't escape my issues. I was living with my heart fixed upon the darkness I was dwelling in. All I could see was the pain of watching people I was close to die. Everyday I cried because I was so miserable. Soon enough my heart's habit was to look to the darkness. To withdraw from everything. To be isolated. I had no more tears to shed. I had developed a routine. Surface level happiness in public. Go home, turn the phone off and just avoid everything. That is not how we are called to live. I met some awesome people when I was in this habit and I really wanted the old me back. I longed to be able to connect and form friendships but I was trapped. I never followed through. Oh but finally, I was beyond miserable and I called out to God and I asked him to restore my soul. I kept living the same old life. I cried out again but I kept living life. I wanted to live God's law because I loved it. Yet, sin was keeping me from fully fixing my eyes upon the Lord. But my Father is so compassionate. He broke the chains on me and he restored me. Now, my heart is set on Him. I am learning what the life of discipleship is: To spend time in the word everyday. To seek God's plans for my heart. To let go of old habits and my desires and let him have full authority and REIGN in my life. I am finally at a place where I find joy coming from the Lord on a daily basis. So, whoever you are and where ever you are at in your life. Surrender to the Lord. He is big enough to take care of you. Pursue His will for your life. Set your hearts on God because you will be rewarded in this life and for eternity!