Pursuing Peace

How peaceful is your thought life?

If you’re anything like me, then your mind is probably filled with a variety of worries, hopes, recent memories, and snippets from social media. My mind tends to jump here and there as the day goes on, working itself into a frenzy of to-do lists and distractions.

I need something to keep me grounded in peace, and I’m guessing you do too.

Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Seeking peace of mind is not a new struggle for humankind. Even Christians during Paul’s time struggled to control their thought life! We all have a natural tendency to dwell on what is flashy, fear-inducing, shocking, and seductive rather than on what is honorable, pure, and lovely. Never-ending social media posts, tragedy-filled news reports, and raunchy TV shows capture our attention and threaten to plant all kinds of turmoil in our minds.

So how do we focus on things that are worthy of praise when it’s so easy to get distracted?

We fix our eyes on truth.

The best way to turn our thoughts away from chaos and toward peace is to fill our minds with God’s Word. Although the world is constantly beckoning us to give our thought life over to disorder, diversion, and destruction, the Prince of Peace wants to permeate our minds with the life-giving knowledge of God (see John 17:3). Scripture is where we go to meet and know Jesus, and when our minds are filled with his words, there won’t be enough space for chaos to creep in and take over.

If you want to experience true peace today, start from the inside out. Set your mind on the beauty of God’s Word. Jesus himself is waiting within the pages, and as you still your thoughts to dwell on him, peace will begin to overcome the frantic and chaotic landscape of your mind.

Prayer Prompt: Tell the Lord about three things that cause you inner fear and turmoil, then surrender those things into his hands.

Journal Prompt: Make a list of the things in your life that attack your peace. Consider your social media input, the news or movies you watch, the books you read, etc. Now make a list of ways you can set better boundaries in these areas, or consider how you could eliminate and replace them with something better.