Finding peace of mind

1. Finding Peace of Mind – 29th July 2017
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”(Philippians 4:6).
Peace of mindis somethingthatwe all want. We all want to be able to rest,to nothave to worry,to
feel free toenjoylife,family,friends,work,church,hobbies,entertainment,etc. We wantto be able to
enjoyourselvesandnotbe burdeneddownwithworriesthatrobus of vigor,life,andpurpose.
Sometimeswhenwe can'tfindpeace of mind,we getdepressed. We oftengetangryand lashout at
God or someone else neartoyou.Sowhat doyou do to getpeace? I meanreal peace inyour life.
Where do youstart? What do you do?Well,the bestplace tostart is withGod as foundin Philippians
4:6-7, “Do not be anxiousaboutanything,butin every situation,byprayer andpetition,with
thanksgiving,presentyour requests to God. 7
Andthe peace of God,whichtranscendsall
understanding,will guardyourhearts and your mindsinChrist Jesus.”
Most people woulddefine peaceof mindasthe absence of mental stressandanxiety.The expression
“peace of mind”conjuresupimagesof composure are soprevalentthatnothingcandisturbthe one
whohas peace of mind.Animperturbable,placidpersonissaidtohave peace of mind.The onlytime
“peace of mind”isfoundinthe Bible isthe NIV translationof 2 Corinthians 2:13where Paul sayshe
foundno“peace of mind”because he didn’tfindTitusinTroas.The literal translationof thisphrase is
“rest of my spirit.”
The Bible usesthe word peacein several differentways. FirstlyPeacesometimesreferstoa state of
friendshipbetweenGodandman.Thispeace betweenaholyGodand sinful mankindhasbeeneffected
by Christ’ssacrificial death,“havingmade peace throughthe bloodof hiscross” as we can read in
Colossians1:20, “… andthroughhimto reconcile to himselfall things,whether thingson earth or
thingsin heaven,by makingpeace throughhisblood,shed onthe cross.” In addition,asHighPriestthe
Lord Jesusmaintainsthatstate of friendshiponbehalf of all whocontinue to“come toGod by faithin
Him,seeingHe alwayslivestomake intercessionforthem” assaidin Hebrews 7:25, “Therefore he is
able to save completelythose who come to Godthroughhim,because he always livesto intercede for
them.” Intercede means aviewtoreconcilingdifferenceswe have cause due tooursinful deeds.
Thisstate of friendshipwithGodisa prerequisiteforthe secondkindof peace,thatwhichsometimes
referstoa tranquil mind.Itisonlywhen “we have peace withGodthroughour Lord JesusChrist” as
explainedin Romans5:1, “Therefore, sincewe have been justifiedthroughfaith,we have peace with
Godthroughour Lord JesusChrist.” It iswhenwe have peace withGod thatwe can experience the true
peace of mindthat is a fruitof the HolySpirit,inotherwords,Hisfruitexhibitedinus.We can learn
whatis meantas the fruitof the Spiritin Galatians5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spiritis love, joy,
peace, forbearance,kindness,goodness,faithfulness, 23
gentlenessandself-control.Againstsuch
thingsthere isno law.”

2. From the Oldtestament tellsusthatGod will keepusin“perfectpeace”if ourmindsare “stayed”on
Him,meaningourmindsleanonHim,centeron Him, and trust inHim. We can learnthisfrom Isaiah
26:3, “You will keep inperfect peace those whose mindsare steadfast, because they trust in you.” As
Christianswe needtoknowthatour tranquilityof mindis“perfect”orimperfecttothe degree thatthe
“mindisstayedon” God ratherthan ourselvesoronour problems.Peace isexperiencedaswe believe
whatthe Bible saysaboutGod’snearnessasin statedin Psalm139:1-6, “Youhavesearched me,
LORD, andyou know me.2
Youknow when I sit andwhen I rise; you perceive my thoughtsfrom afar.
3
Youdiscern my goingout andmy lyingdown; youare familiarwithall my ways. 4
Before a word is on
my tongue you,LORD, knowit completely.5
Youhem me in behindandbefore, and youlay your hand
uponme. 6
Suchknowledgeis too wonderful for me, too loftyfor me to attain.” AsbelieversinGods
provisionforus, we findpeace throughHisgoodnessandpower,Hismercyandlove forHis children,
and Hiscomplete sovereigntyoverall of life’scircumstances.Butwe can’ttrust someone we don’t
know,andit iscrucial,therefore,tocome to know intimatelythe Prince of Peace,JesusChrist.
A peaceful mindandheartare experiencedasaresultof recognizingthatanall-wise andlovingFather
has a purpose inour trials as saidinRomans 8:28, “Andwe knowthat in all thingsGodworks for the
goodof those who lovehim, whohave been called accordingto hispurpose.” God can avail us a
varietyof goodthings,includingpeace,fromthe afflictionsthatwe experience.Eventhe discipline and
chasteningof the Lord will “yieldthe peaceable fruitof righteousness”inourlives assaidin Hebrews
12:11, “Nodisciplineseemspleasantat the time,but painful.Later on, however, it producesa harvest
of righteousnessandpeace for those who have been trainedby it.” Theyprovide afreshopportunity
for usfor placingour “hope inGod” and eventually learnto“praisingHim.”
We can learnwhenthe psalmistsays: “Why,mysoul,are youdowncast? Why sodisturbed withinme?
Put your hope inGod, for I will yet praisehim, my Saviorandmy God.”(Psalm43:5).Our faithand
belief inHimeven helpus“comfort”otherswhentheyundergosimilartrials.We canlearnin 2
Corinthians1:4, “…whocomfortsus inall ourtroubles, sothat we can comfortthose in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselvesreceive from God.” OursteadfastfaithinGodalso availsusthe
possibilityto “achieve forusaneternal glorythatfar outweighsthemall”asstatedin 2 Corinthians
4:17, “For our lightandmomentary troublesare achievingforus an eternal glorythat far outweighs
them all.”.
Peace of mindand the tranquilityof spiritthataccompaniesitare onlyavailable whenwe have true
peace withGod throughthe sacrifice of Christonthe cross inpaymentof our sins.Those whoattempt
to findpeace inworldlypursuitswill findthemselvessadlydeceived.ForChristians,however,peace of
mindisavailable throughthe intimateknowledge of,andcompletetrustin,Godwhomeets“all your
needsaswe can learnfrom Philippians4:19,“Andmy Godwill meet all your needs accordingto the
riches of hisgloryin ChristJesus.” In additionwe can alsoknow that Peace isalsoexperiencedasa
resultof prayeras we have statedabove :“Do not be anxiousaboutanything,butin every situation,by
prayer and petition,withthanksgiving,presentyour requests to God. 7
And the peace of God,which
transcendsall understanding,will guardyourhearts andyour mindsin ChristJesus.” (Philippians4:6-
7).