1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Circumstances are a lot like the mattress on your bed:  if you are under the mattress, you will suffocate; but if you can get on top of the mattress, you can enjoy some rest! And one of the key things that helps us get on top of the mattress of difficult life-circumstances is our attitude in life!

Airplanes have something called an attitude indicator or artificial horizon which is an instrument used to tell the pilot the orientation of the aircraft in relationship to the earth.  Attitude is the term that refers to the relative position of the nose of the aircraft to the horizon. If the horizon is straight out in front of you and you pull back on the yoke of the plane slightly one degree up angle, you have an upward attitude. And with continued forward movement, you will gain altitude, and continue to go higher and higher until you change the attitude. The opposite holds just as true. With the nose of the plane pointed even slightly down, you lose altitude. You will continue to descend until you have a change of attitude.  A downward attitude lowers your altitude; and an upward attitude raises your altitude.  And so, your attitude determines your altitude!

In a similar way in your life and my life, our attitude really determines our altitude—if we have an upward attitude, as we keep moving forward, our altitude in life will climb.  If we have a downward attitude, our altitude will go down to crash and burn! In life, attitude determines our altitude!  So where you are right now in life is largely determined on whether you are nose up or nose down!

The Bible lets us which way our nose in life needs to be directed on the attitude indicator…in Colossians 3:1-2, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek  the things that are above, where Christ is,  seated at the right hand of God.  2  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (ESV)

Nose up and attitude up, directed toward Christ at all times, seeking that direction—minds on the things that are above—not on the junk of earth! And here’s the deal:  when you direct your mind and your life on  the things that are above and set your minds on those things, it will raise you right out the downward tailspin of this world!