The Gift of an Untroubled Mind
“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.”1
In his book, Peace of Mind, Joshua Liebman writes of an experience he
had when he was still a boy. “I made a list of the supreme goods in life,”
Liebman said. “I went to a wise mentor and I showed him the list expecting to
be praised for my precocity. The list went something like this … health, love,
talent, riches, beauty, and faith. As I shared the list with the old wise man,
he reached for a stub of a pencil, and carefully scratched through all of the
things that I had listed. He said, “Young man, you may have all of these… but
they will all turn out to be enemies instead of friends unless you have the one
thing you missed.” Then he wrote on the paper, “The gift of an untroubled mind.”2
From what I read and hear, it appears that so many people in our modern society
carry the weight of depression, heartbreak, worry, anxiety, fear, and impaired
relationships. Many have just about every material benefit and human comfort
wanted, however many don’t have peace of mind.
There are two kinds of peace we all need in order to fully live. First, and
most important of all, is spiritual peace or peace with God knowing that our
sins are forgiven, our guilt is gone, and we have God’s promise of a home in
heaven for all eternity. This gift from God is absolutely free and comes from confessing
our sins and accepting Jesus as our Savior.
The other kind of peace we could call emotional or relational peace. This comes
from resolving conflict within our relationships, forgiving any and all who
have ever hurt us, and working through negative emotions that are stealing our
peace. The Bible instructs us to get rid of (not bury or deny) all feelings of
hatred and all negative emotions.3
Let’s do our part to live in peace. Whether it be finding spiritual peace by
renewing our relationship with the Lord, or doing our part in mending broken
relationships and finding peace with others.
Suggested prayer: Dear God, please help me see and resolve anything in my life
that is causing me to have a troubled mind. Please fill me with your love and
help me know and experience your eternal peace in the very center of my being. In
Jesus’ name, amen.
1. John 14:27 (NIV).
2. Cited in Receive the Gift of an Untroubled Mind by Robert H.
Schuller.
3. 1 Peter 2:1-3 and James 5:16.
Today’s Encounter was written by: Crystal B.
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