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Our spiritual director, Nikki Still, has a unique gift for speaking life into our team, especially in the midst of work that can sometimes feel heavy. This week, we wanted to share one of her recent encouragements with you, in the hope that it uplifts your heart just as it did ours.
Set your minds on things above
“Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” —Col. 3:1–4
Paul outlines one of the keys to longevity in the fight against injustice. Being exposed to people's suffering and the many evils that are rampant in the world can result in us being consumed with sadness, fear, anger, hopelessness, or even indifference. Reading our intercept stories or watching the news can overwhelm us.
Not just your mind—your heart too
The remedy for this is perspective and experience. A perspective that dwells more in the reality of the heavenlies than in the realities of the earth. We need to set our hearts—our emotions, affections, and desires—and then our minds—our thoughts and logic—on the things of Christ.
I think we’re probably better at the “mind” part than we are about the “heart” part. The heart can feel more abstract and unclear and hence harder to enact. What does it mean to set your heart on things above? What does it look like practically?
To me, it means directing my affections, attention, and emotions toward God. It means thinking about His glory, wonder, victory, and character as seen in the Gospels and throughout Scripture and allowing my heart to be moved. I need to actively stir up emotions of gratitude and love, which is often the natural by-product of thinking about the great qualities of someone, but also requires the Spirit to breathe on us to awaken that heart of love.
As we dine in this place of wonder, feasting on His goodness, we start to develop a habit, where the emotional fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, compassion, gratitude) start to dominate our experience. So that when we see the world and all its injustices, we have power to look on them with love, confidence in God's sovereignty and victory over it all, and power to do something about it.
Jesus changes our perspective
Nikki’s reflections offer a hopeful take on this work fighting human trafficking. We may not be able to look injustice in the face all the time—it can leave us weary and downcast. But we can look to Jesus and allow His love to sustain us and His light to pierce every darkness we encounter. He changes our perspective and empowers us to continue fighting for justice.
We hope these words encouraged your heart today. If you’d like to receive more reflections like this along with prayer requests from our teams, sign up for prayer updates at the button below.
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