335. How to Enjoy Peace of Mind

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Transcript of How to Enjoy Peace of Mind

 

When Jesus was about to leave this world, he told his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  (John 14:27)

He knew that he was headed for the cross.  He knew his disciples were going to experience trials, tough times and lots of trouble.  His gift to them was peace.  Peace of mind.  I think the idea of peace of mind gets overlooked today.  There is a lot of study on the concept of happiness, and I think these things are related.  Happiness is often connected to what you have, who you’re with and where you are going.  Peace is independent of all of those things and is available to every disciple in every circumstance, right now.

I want you to think about a time when you were enjoying peace of mind.  When you really felt calm and joyful inside.  What was that like?  Can you share about that experience?

Let’s take a look at how to enjoy more of the gift Jesus gave us, the gift of peace.

1.    Abstain from Sinful Desires. 

Peter shares this in 1 Peter 2:11, “¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.”  There is nothing that will destroy your peace of mind more easily than unrestrained sinful desires.  This is why Jesus counsels in Matthew 5:30 that, “if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.”  Jesus is not being mean or “old school,” he’s being realistic.  If you are compromising or tolerating a certain level of sin in your life, you’re going to have difficulty enjoying the peace of mind Jesus promises.  Peter rephrases Jesus’ command by telling us to abstain, which means, “to refrain deliberately and often with an effort of self-denial from an action or practice.”  That can mean alcohol, swearing, media consumption, shopping, news binging and other controlling habits.

As a disciple of Jesus, this world is not your home.  You need to live with a level of detachment as a foreigner.  When Pam and I lived in Japan, there were many things that went straight over our heads as foreigners and “Gai-Jin.”  The jokes, the culture, the conformity to custom.

If you want peace of mind, don’t negotiate, don’t tolerate, don’t rationalize, instead abstain.  As Thomas A’Kempis said in the Imitation of Christ, “true peace of heart is found in resisting passions, not in yielding to them.”

2.   Put your love into action. 

1 John 3:16-19.  ¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.  ¹⁹ This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.”

Resisting evil is only one part of the equation to find peace.  John advises us to live and love like Jesus did.  Loving in actions and truth reminds you that you belong to the truth and sets your heart at rest in his presence.  It doesn’t earn you a spot in heaven, but it reminds you of your identity as a child of God. 

If you want peace of mind, wake up each day with a determination to actively serve someone, help someone, encourage someone, assist someone, help someone move, comfort someone, advise someone, offer someone your time, energy or expertise. 

Next time you are prompted by the spirit, act on that nudge.  Love in action and truth.  Enjoy peace of mind and set your heart at rest in his presence.

3.   Remember God is Greater than Your Feelings. 

1 John 3:19-20.  This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Our feelings and thoughts are often the worst offenders when it comes to disrupting our peace of mind.  Our self-judgment, self-criticism, wacky thoughts, catastrophic fears, fatalistic ideas, borrowed concepts from the world, childhood thoughts, inherited ideas all contribute to a lack of peace.  As Tom Ferry says, “"Negative self-talk is the equivalent of letting a drunk monkey loose in your kitchen."

That’s when we need to remind ourselves that God is far greater than our feelings.  Our feelings don’t define reality, they are only an impression of reality.  The God who made the world, who chose you before the creation of the world, who personally showed up in the world to rescue you is going to bring to completion what he started when he called you.  He knows all about you and your quirks, faults and failures and he still adores you.  You need to take captive those misguided thoughts and make them obedient to Christ, who is greater than your heart.

Take some time each day to sit quietly and focus on the greatness of God, a scripture or a noble thought.  When a weird thought pops up, don’t freak out.  Just look at it and ask yourself, is this thought from God?  What’s the reality?

4.  Actively pursue peace of mind. 

2 Timothy 2:22.  “²² Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

If you have overlooked, undervalued or ignored the concept of peace of mind, it might be time to reevaluate it.  Jesus considered it a top gift and at the critical event of his life, the cross, he gave the gift of peace to those who followed him.  You might want to find out why Jesus considered it so important.  In fact, I’d do more than think about it, I’d pursue it.  Make it a priority along with righteousness, faith a love.  All the “cool kids” who have pure hearts are doing it.  I like what Naval Ravikant shares in his almanack: 

“When I was younger, I really, really valued freedom. Freedom was one of my core values. Ironically, it still is. It’s probably one of my top three values, but it’s now a different definition of freedom. My old definition was “freedom to.” Freedom to do anything I want. Freedom to do whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like. Now, the freedom I’m looking for is internal freedom. It’s “freedom from.” Freedom from reaction. Freedom from feeling angry. Freedom from being sad. Freedom from being forced to do things. I’m looking for “freedom from,” internally and externally, whereas before I was looking for “freedom to.”

Naval is not a disciple, but I think there is value here.  Peace of mind is “freedom from.”  You can enjoy peace, joy, and contentment in any stage of life, relationship status, financial circumstance, health status, location or any other environment. 

Make a decision that you are going to pursue peace of mind.  Make it a conscious goal to enjoy Jesus’ gift to you.