At Peace With Yourself
Isaiah 26:3
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."
It can never be said enough the importance of being at peace with one's self. Throughout my lifetime it is saddening to see those who have prematurely ended their life who seem to have everything that a person would want. Yet, it really doesn't matter how much money, fame or possessions one has, what really matters is that a person must be at peace with themselves if they want to enjoy life.
In the verse above, you will find that God gives us the formula for being at peace with yourself. God knows what it will take for you to be at peace with yourself for He is the One Who made you. God knows what is best for you. He knows your makeup and what will cause you to be at peace. The verse above gives us this formula in reverse order. God starts the verse by showing us the product, but He ends the verse by showing us the foundation.
First, your trust must be placed in God to be at peace with yourself. This is a two-fold trust. First, you will never be at perfect peace with yourself without trusting Christ as your Saviour. This is ultimately where it all starts. Inside of every individual is a desire to be at peace with their maker. You can only be at peace with God by trusting Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. You can try religion, works or your own way to be at peace with God, but these will fail. Your complete trust for salvation must be placed in Jesus Christ. You will never be at peace with yourself without trusting Christ as Saviour. Furthermore, your trust with all you do must be placed in God. You must come to a point in your life where you trust God for everything. Too many people try to place their trust in finances or job security, but you must trust Christ for all you do. On whom you place your trust is the foundation of being at peace with yourself.
Second, you must fix yourself upon Christ to be at peace with yourself. Stop placing your eyes on man, and place your eyes upon Christ. One of the greatest reasons people are so insecure is because they are so worried with what man thinks about them. Stop worrying about what man thinks of you and be more concerned with what Christ knows about you. Christians who place their loyalties upon man and institutions and not upon Christ only will find themselves disappointed. Christian, man will change, and because they change you will never be at peace with yourself if you place your focus on them. God is unchangeable, and His unchangeableness will give you peace if you keep your focus on Him.
Third, you must let God be the source of your thoughts. The word "mind" is talking about your imaginations. In other words, when your thoughts are wrapped in Christ, you will be at peace with yourself. Christian, you must protect what influences your mind. God should be the only One Whom you allow to influence your mind. Let God be your influence for your dreams, desires and wants.
Notice, when you do these things, God will guard your peace of mind. The verse above says that God will keep you in "perfect peace" if you will fix your mind and trust on Him. You won't have to worry about being at peace with yourself because God will guard that peace for you. Every day you should yield your mind to Christ and ask Him to guide your thoughts and imaginations. When your mind is yielded to Christ, you will find yourself being at peace with yourself because you are at peace with God.