I woke up with good intentions. Today was going to be a day given to the Lord. I planned to do and think the things that would glorify God. I was excited to wake up and get going.

But a problem quickly surfaced. My thoughts quickly drifted, and I forgot about my good intentions. I thought about everything and nothing. One idea was bleeding into the next until my ideas were clotted together into an indistinguishable mess that prevented a free flow of healthy thinking. My thoughts were not evil or horrific. But they were not controlled, and they were about temporal things.

When I finally started my devotion time, I read these verses. “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, ESV)

I realized that my inability to think straight was a result of my lack of discipline and because I was fixed on the temporal instead of setting my mind on the eternal. So the very simple answer was to control my thoughts and think about eternal things. Wow! That is easier said than done.

During the first 5 minutes of Bible reading, I thought about food, many members of my family, work, a sick friend, the weather, the stock market, retirement, chores, refinishing furniture, scuba diving, the laundry, and on and on ad infinitum. I realized that my thoughts were out of control because I have not habitually disciplined my mind to think about what it should. Now I have a lazy brain that lacks restraint.

If I am going to “seek things that are above” and “set my mind on things above.” I will have to make an effort to retrain my brain to think correctly. I will have to set aside time to learn about heavenly things, so I can think about them. I will also have to unclutter my life. Right now I have too much other stuff to think about. That needs to change.

This all seems simple enough, but I know that it is going to be a battle. But in the end it will glorify God and give my life purpose. My life will be a consistent, disciplined walk where “whatever I do, in word or deed, I will do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17, ESV)