For the past few years, I’ve been plagued by neck pain.

Toward the end of every day, I feel the familiar tension headache creeping up. Every morning, I wake up with a familiar soreness through my neck and shoulders. With two little kids to chase around and carry, I’m often inhibited by this pain from enjoying activities I would normally love, and it seems to lurk in the background of every joyful moment.

I am sick of it.

My friend’s husband is a doctor of physical therapy, and one day, I asked for ideas to get rid of all this discomfort.

“You’ve got to stop looking down so much.”

He was right. My eyes were constantly on my computer screen for work, or on my phone, for any number of reasons—from getting directions to scrolling social media to capturing photos. My neck was strained from looking down in front of me instead of straight ahead, where my gaze would naturally fall.

Where we set our eyes matters. This extends beyond our physical eyes and our physical posture…

If we are constantly looking down at the dark realities of Earth and the day-to-day concerns of our lives, we will find we lack accurate perspective and peace.

According to Colossians 3:1-4, the solution is to set our eyes on Jesus, seated on the throne of heaven–the truest reality of all. Though our physical eyes can’t see Him in His current glory, our spiritual eyesight has been restored through the Holy Spirit to live according to that reality. Though Jesus already defeated death, He has not yet returned to set all things right, once and for all. But He’s coming.

Set your mind on that.

Hang your hope on His victory. Focus your attention and energy on living as though Christ is King, because He is. All of this—the trouble of today and the chaos in the world—is merely the final gasp of the enemy, already dealt a deadly blow by Jesus’s death and Resurrection.

My neck issues might find some relief through stretching and physical therapy, but ultimately, the key to getting rid of my pain is to retrain my muscles to look up instead of down.

The same is true of our hearts. If we allow our gaze to linger on the temporary things of this world, we won’t be able to embrace the abundant life He has ordained for us right now.

Train your heart, through prayer and steeping yourself in Scripture, to focus on Christ’s victory, and the fact that He is now seated on the throne.

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory” (Colossians 3:1-4).

Curious for more? Take 5 minutes to be inspired by your true purpose through our interview with Whitney!

*For deeper reflection, listen to Colossians 3 today!