Peace of Mind

The man seemed to be successful. He had a good family, job, and friends. He was happy on the outside, but something was wrong. He had no peace of mind. Many people find themselves in the same situation every day. The Bible promises hope to those who have no peace of mind, because God has given us principles in His Word that help deal with this problem.

•  Stand fast in the Lord regardless of how you feel (v. 1). Any time a person remains faithful to the Lord, he experiences the needed stability to have peace in His mind. He has his life built on the Rock of Ages.

•  Be in unity with others (v. 2). Disunity among people often creates strife, anger, and bitterness, and these emotions will create a lack of inner peace. When you do your best to be at peace with others, you remove problems that cause uneasiness, and you reflect your Father in Heaven, the God of peace.

•  Reach out and help others (v. 3). Many times, we focus on what is going on in our lives to the point of becoming unhappy with ourselves and with life itself. Being concerned about others refocuses our spiritual eyes to see things from God’s perspective and eases our emotions that trouble us. We know that others are experiencing problems, so we work together to serve Jesus Christ.

•  Determine to rejoice in the Lord (v.4). Not all of life’s circumstances will be good, so we must decide to rejoice in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We have a God Who really cares and gives us untold blessings in our relationship with Him. When a Christian focuses on God, the focus is in the right place.

•  Realize that you could see Christ at any time (v. 5). What an encouragement to the Christian! The Bible tells us that Jesus is at hand, and we will not live with problems forever. The future is so bright that our daily lives are encouraged even in the midst of problems.

•  Determine not to be anxious (v. 6). Jesus has told us that we are not to worry about the future. God knows all, and we need to trust Him that He is doing everything for our best. He loves us and will not fail us. Trust God.

•  Pray and let the peace of God come into your soul (vv. 6-7). Prayer does wonders for the soul as communication with God is taking place. Although He already knows what we need, He encourages us to pray to Him and ask for His peace. This peace is beyond our understanding, but Jesus will work in our heart and minds, giving us perfect peace.

•  Think on the right things (v. 8). When we think on sin or on negative things, our hearts are discouraged and put in an upheaval. If we think on things that God approves of, we have our minds in unison with God, bringing peacefulness to our souls.

•  Do what you know you are supposed to do (v. 9). Doing what God has told us to do brings us a clear conscience. Many are miserable because their consciences are telling them that they are in the wrong. Right living invigorates the soul and gives freedom to the conscience.

May all of us determine to experience God’s peace as we do our best to live for Jesus day by day.