Set Your Mind – By Victoria Osteen
When our son, Jonathan, was about three years old, I decided I was going to teach how to hit a baseball. I took him out to the backyard and positioned him in a batter’s stance at the distance I needed him to be from me, and I said, “Jonathan, here you go!” Then I tossed the ball to him, he swung and missed by a mile. We tried a second time, but again he missed. A change in strategy was apparent. Before the third try, I held the ball out toward him and said, “Jonathan, I want you to keep your eyes on the ball. Don’t take your eyes off this ball. Don’t be distracted by anything else. When you focus on the ball, you’re going to hit it!” When I threw that third pitch, he kept his eyes on the ball and hit it past me into the backyard.
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That reminds of the million distractions we have from our relationship with God, especially during the holidays. Just as Jonathan had to keep his eye on the ball, we have to keep our eyes on the things of God. He wants you to set your sights on His unshakable love and the victory He has for you. The apostle Paul said it this way: “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” (Colossians 3:1–2). We have to fix our gaze on what God is doing in our lives.
The writer of Hebrews encourages us to “run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1–2). Sometimes you just have to look away from those things that are trying to distract you. You have to look away from those things that are trying to entangle you in something you have no business being entangled in. God doesn’t want you to get off course! He’s the author and the finisher for your faith! He’s the One who started it, and He’s the One who’s going to take you through to the end. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and you’ll connect with Him and hit that ball right out of the park…so to speak!
By Victoria Osteen