- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
A Positive and Peaceful Mind
By M L Ashton
There are many verses and passages in the Bible that reveal to us some of the characteristics of a peaceful mind, perhaps the most helpful is Matthew 11 v28-29. These well-known verses record for us the gracious invitation of the Lord Jesus, “come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (v28).
There are two kinds of rest, one that is GIVEN to those who come to Jesus, and a rest which is FOUND by those who take His yoke upon them and learn from Him. I believe the first particularly refers to rest from the heart problems which humans carry because of sin and isolation from God, and the second to rest of heart and mind which is found by those who come to Jesus, submit to Him and learn from Him.
There may be someone reading this who is fighting with inner conflict and who has not yet taken the first step of coming to Jesus and receiving Him as Saviour and Lord, so I would like to consider the Lord’s wonderful invitation. In the Bible we read about many problems of the heart that affect our personality. Jesus gives us rest from them when we come to Him.
The first problem in the heart is sin. In Psalm 38 verse 4 we read, “my guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear”. Many are not conscious of that burden, yet all the time it is there in the depths of their heart. From the beginning of time, sin has been rebellion against God and this does not bring peace and rest to your personality. It is only by coming to Jesus that rest is found from this burden of sin. One of the most beautiful descriptions of someone who finds this rest is in the book, ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’. John Bunyan, the author, describes the main character, named Christian, who carried a heavy burden from which he constantly wanted rest from carrying. Christian went on a journey during which, John Bunyan tells us, “he came to a place where a Cross stood and a little below there was an open grave. When Christian came to the Cross his burden fell from his back and it then rolled into the mouth of the open grave. Then Christian felt glad and light, with a happy heart he said, ‘He has given me rest by His sorrow, and life by His death’. He stood for a short time gazing in wonder, because it was very surprising to him that the sight of the Cross would relieve him of his burden”. It is because Jesus carried our sin when He died upon the Cross that He can give us rest from that burden when we come to Him.
Job knew another heart problem. We read his words in Job 7 v20, “have I become a burden to you?” The burden of self and that of sin are actually the same problem, but there are many people who do not realise that they are burdened with sin, but they do realise they are a burden to others or themselves. In my own experience, it was the knowledge that I was entirely self-centred and that I could get no rest from myself that caused me to come to Jesus. Our personalities were not made to be self-centred, they were made to be God-centred. It is sin that has made us this way and selfishness causes conflict within us. There is only one way of receiving rest from this burden, it is to come to Christ, who took our old selfish nature to the Cross and who can change us by His resurrection life in us. His Holy Spirit changes us to become more like Christ. Then we can say with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2 v20).
There is one other heart problem which Jesus criticised, it is outward religious rituals without inward spiritual life. When He spoke to the Scribes and Pharisees, He said, “they tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them” (Matthew 23 v4). I believe there are many Christians today suffering from fear, but they are seeking a cure in outward religious rituals when they have not yet received inward spiritual life. They are seeking peace by doing good works, by going to Church, by prayer or by kindness, in the hope of pleasing God and that He will relieve them of their problems. In fact these things add to their burdens rather than bringing rest. Hebrews 4 verse 10 tells us that, “anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works”. There is a wonderful rest which Jesus gives to those who will stop all their efforts and come to Him in simple trust. They must believe that what is necessary for salvation and freedom was done by Him when He lived, died, rose again, ascended to heaven, and sent us the gift of His Holy Spirit. If we come to Him, His own promise stands forever, “whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6 v37).
Many young Christians become discouraged because they expect that after salvation and rest from heart problems, they will know a lasting rest of mind, however this is not always what happens. For these believers, the second part of the Lord’s invitation is what is needed for consideration and response. There is still a rest of the whole personality which can only be found by taking His yoke and by learning from Him.
To be under a yoke in Bible times meant to be in submission. Not only coming to Jesus Christ but real submission to Him is necessary if we want to find rest. After that, we will find that in our lives He works our submission out by showing us new areas in our personalities where there are still problems and fears. As He does that, and as we submit more of these areas to Him, we will find increasing rest. It is written of Him, “of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9 v7).
The yoke also speaks of service. A cow or ox in the yoke is a picture of patient, steady and Godly labour. One characteristic of a peaceful mind is rest when working hard in the service for the Lord, because it has a divine service to carry out. The Lord Jesus has a specific yoke for each person who belongs to Him, this could be in Christian work or maybe in a secular job, maybe as a missionary, maybe in an office or maybe at home. Wherever or whatever it is, if it is known to be His yoke and you accept this in your heart, it will bring rest.
The Lord Jesus also tells us that we are to learn from Him if we want to find rest for our souls. We should never think we do not need to learn from Him, because He is the greatest teacher. Rest comes to us by learning from Him, yet we are often slow to learn. I have found the Lord changing my prayers concerning lack of peace of mind. I previously would cry to Him for freedom if I had lost peace and rest. I now ask Him to teach me why I have become upset and why there is conflict when there should be peace. He then teaches me what is the underlying cause of the anxiety, and what I should do. Being willing to learn is an important characteristic of a peaceful mind.
The Lord Jesus gave us a reason why we are to take His yoke and learn from Him. That reason is that He is meek and humble in heart. This indicates that two essential elements of the mind at rest are meekness and humility. The Lord, when He walked on earth endured pressure from enemies, from friends, from circumstances, from Satan, and from physical and spiritual pressure. Yet through it all He had peace, when we read His words, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you”. Our hearts know that this is the kind of peace we want, which He displayed when under earthly pressures. I believe that the two characteristics of His wonderful personality that made it possible for Him to have a peaceful mind are meekness and humility.
A pastor once said that in the meaning of the Greek word for “meekness” there is the thought of an animal being tamed. Think of a young wild horse being made to be at peace in its owner’s control. Until it is tamed it will try anything to break free, but finally it becomes gentle and responsive. This is a picture of the meekness of Jesus. Not one trace of rebellion was in Him, He came down from heaven to do the will of His Father not His own will (John 6 v38). Throughout His life He was totally submissive to the directions of His Father. At the end, His death and resurrection were in obedience to the Father’s command. Referring to His life He said, “I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (John 10 v18).
Not only was Jesus utterly submissive to the Father but He was gentle towards others. He never answered back when provoked, He was never bitter or resentful. As they nailed Him to the Cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23 v34).
In Isaiah 50 we have a description of the meekness of Jesus, “The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting”.
The characteristic of humility is wonderfully displayed in the life of the Lord. In Philippians 2 Paul tells us to have this same virtue. We find in verse 7 that He took “the very nature of a servant”. His humility was shown by His willingness to serve others, even washing the disciples’ feet, a task usually left to the lowest slave in ancient societies. Paul mentions another mark of humility, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross” (v8).
In these characteristics we must learn from the Lord if we want to find rest and have a peaceful mind. Meekness from which all rebellion has been removed is completely submitted to God’s will and is gentle towards others, it is not unforgiving and is willing to be a servant. Ultimately, our Lord submitted to death on the Cross.
This last point is very important when finding rest for the mind, because human nature is selfish. When Christ died on the Cross He not only carried our sins, He carried our sinful nature, and in His death ended the control and rule of that nature. He was then buried and rose from the dead into new life, which He now shares with us by His Holy Spirit. This death gives us the right to claim freedom from the old human nature and He asks us to be obedient to that death. We must be willing to submit to His Spirit so that the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is seen in us. We are then called to take up our cross daily and submit in every part of our lives to the death of self that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our bodies (2 Corinthians 4 v10-11). This life of Jesus sets us free and brings His rest and His peace into our whole personalities.
We are to leave our burdens of sin and self, and our outward religious practices, at the Cross. We are to receive from Him the rest which He gives. We are to increasingly submit to the rule of Jesus, and to serve Him constantly and willingly in our lives. We must learn to allow His meekness and lowliness to strengthen us in allcircumstances of life, because one promise is sure, “you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11 v29)
From ‘A Mind at Ease’.