Peace of Mind

Peace is something that it is short supply right now. No matter who you are or where you look, peace is clearly evading us all.

I remember there being a season where I couldn’t get my feet under me. I felt like every time I tried to stand up, some other crisis or chaos would knock me down. I couldn’t even sleep. Peace was no where to be found, and I was looking. At one point Pastor Jerry showed me this passage. It’s one of those that we have become too familiar with, in my opinion, that we have become numb to it’s real power.

Philippians 4:4–9 NLT

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

I realized in that moment that my mind was fixed on lies, dishonor, evil, tainted, ugly, and hateful thoughts. The opposite of what God is telling us here. To be clear, I was not thinking of doing evil or wrong things. My thoughts were negative and chaotic. I was allowing the enemy to steal the peace and joy Jesus offers.

It’s easy for us to do, right? We see all the ugly, wrong things in the world. At first, it’s under the guise of being “wise as serpents….”, but really it’s a whole lot easier to see what is wrong than what is right.

“Gas prices are too high” “Why did he try to make that throw?” “If I was their parents they would never get away with that behavior.”

It’s easier to be critical and negative. But you are only hurting yourself and your own mental wellbeing. Thank God we are not left without hope!

Jesus is our ultimate example. I’m not sure if you know this, but He did a few miraculous things. This pattern is in all of them, so lets look at 2 for examples.

Matthew 15:32–38 NLT

Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.” The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?” Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.” So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children.

This is one of Jesus’ most famous miracles. It is recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Other than the resurrection, this is the only miracle mentioned in all 4 Gospels. Notice how it starts? Jesus had compassion on the people. He wasn’t distracted by what could not be done or what they didn’t have. He didn’t allow the limitations around Him to shrink the faith inside Him. The vision for what needed to be done came before resources were available. And before he passed out the bread He thanked God. He kept His mind fixed on what was true, not the facts. The fact of the matter was that a sack lunch wasn’t going to feed 4k+ people. The truth was God cared for those people.

Let’s look at another one….

John 11:20–44 NLT

When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” So Mary immediately went to him. Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.” Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

I need you to get this right here. Jesus’ friend is dead. By the 4th day the body has started to stinkith. There is no question that Lazarus is no longer alive. Jesus is filled with passion, compassion, and sorrow. He wept. But how does He start to raise a man from the dead? “Father, thank You for hearing Me.” He doesn’t wait to see if God is going to do what He asks. He has the confidence that He always does hear him. Jesus is fixing His thoughts and everyone around Him on the truth. God hears and cares.

Science actually backs this up. In Daniel G. Amen’s book “Change Your Brain Change Your Life”, he talks about the brain activity of someone who is grateful vs fearful. He notes that the area of the brain that controls physical coordination, such as walking or playing sports, is also responsible for processing speed. In other words, this part of our brain controls how fast we process new information. If this part of your brain, the cerebellum, is slowed down or shut down you will become clumsier and less likely to be able to problem solve. The cerebellum, however, is more active when you are focusing more on gratitude.

When you are thankful, grateful, you are actually living as the best possible version of yourself mentally.

I want to challenge you for this week. Each day, take 5 min or less, and write down 5 things you are thankful for. Do it first thing. Pay attention to how you feel this week. Are you more productive? Do you experience more mental clarity? Is it easier to hear God’s voice? Is there more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, and faithfulness in your heart?

I would submit to you that these are not things only Christ followers desire. Most people want to have mental and emotional clarity. Most people want to be more productive on life and more present with the ones they love. Everyone I know wants direction from something greater than themselves. We all want to be kinder, more joyful, have more self control. Gratitude is a the key to all the things you have been looking for. This is where Christ followers have the edge.

Gratitude may be the key, but it needs a recipient. I can be grateful I didn’t get into a car accident. But who am I thanking. The universe? The driver of the other car? The person who made the vehicle? That is just for that moment. Imagine being grateful to an eternal God who has His hands in and on everything? There is no limit of things to be grateful for! And that gratefulness breeds more gratefulness.

Altar call.

Close.