How To Have Peace of Mind
We live in a very uptight world. This is an age of tension. This is an age of anxiety. We all face situations that make us tense and rob us of peace of mind. A major cause of heart attacks and high blood pressure is tension and stress. Most tension is really the result of unresolved conflict. If you have an argument with somebody at work – it affects your job – but it also affects your life. People have said, “Leave your work at work – but the truth of the matter is that our emotional and mental states are always with us – they are part of who we are.
Today we are going to look at the life of Moses. He was a man who learned how to resolve the basic issues of life. As a result he became a prime example of how to enjoy peace of mind. I think Moses was one of the greatest men of faith in the Old Testament. Here is what Hebrews chapter eleven says about him:
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.” Hebrews 11:23-29 (NASB)
He was truly a man of faith. Yet if anybody had a right to be uptight – it was Moses. He was called by God to lead two million Israelites out of the land of Egypt. They were to cross the desert and go into a new country called Israel – the Promised Land. It was a great that God had called him for such a task – but for nearly the entire time the people complained, argued, and fought. They spent forty years wandering around the wilderness and that time for Moses could not have been easy.
Moses had every right to be uptight – but the Bible tells us that character of Moses was that of gentleness and humbleness. The Bible says:
“Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.” Numbers 12:3 (NASB)
The Bible in Basic English says it this way:
“Now the man Moses was more gentle than any other man on earth.” Numbers 12:3 (BBE)
Humbleness and gentleness are attitudes that lead to quiet confidence – inner tranquility – peace of mind. They are attitudes that keep you from getting ruffled and upset when things get hot. They are attitudes that say, “When everybody’s coming down on me – I’m going to look up. When everybody around me is uptight and hot – I’m going to keep my cool. I’m going to do what’s right – no matter what others around me do.”
THE FOUR BASIC QUESTIONS OF LIFE
Why was Moses able to have peace of mind? Why was he able to be at peace with himself? Because Moses was a man who knew the answers to four basic questions of life. Every decision he made was based on the answers to these questions. He did not live by his feelings – he did not live by his emotions – he did not live by the opinions of others – instead he had a life of faith – because he knew the answers to four basic questions. Because he knew the answers to four basic questions he could live with peace of mind.
Whether you are a teenager or a senior citizen or somewhere in between – each of us eventually has to deal with these four basic questions. If you can learn answers these questions – you’ll learn how to be calm in a crisis. You’ll learn how to be strong under stress. You’ll learn how to be at peace under pressure.
In our text today we read how Moses dealt with four questions.
The first question he dealt with was:
1. “Who am I?” (v. 24)
The second question he dealt with was:
2. “Who do I want to be?” (v. 25)
The third question he dealt with was:
3. “What is important in my life?” (v. 26)
And finally – the fourth question he dealt with was:
4. “How am I going to live?” (v. 27)
These four fundamental issues are the bedrock issues that you need to come to grips with if you’re going to have peace of mind. In every one of these crucial issues – Moses responded in the right way. He made correct decisions and as a result we look to him to be an example for us today. Let’s look at each one of these:
1. “Who am I?” (v. 24)
The first thing Moses dealt with is the issue of identity. He settled the issue of “Who am I?” Look at what verse twenty four says:
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.” Hebrews 11:24 (NASB)
Moses – when he grew up – refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh had proclaimed that every newborn Jewish boy should be killed, but his mother hid him in a little basket in the reeds of the Nile River. Pharaoh’s daughter came along to bathe and she found a little tar-lined basket floating in the water. In it was a little Jewish baby boy – Moses. Immediately she fell in love with the baby – took him home with her and raised him right there in the Egyptian palace.
We need to understand what is going on here. Moses was actually a Jew but Pharaoh’s daughter raised him as an Egyptian. Everybody thought he was a bona fide Egyptian.
Years later as he was being groomed to be second in command in Egypt – he had to make a choice: “What am I going to do? I know I’m a Jew but am I going to pretending that I’m an Egyptian. Am I going to continue living this lie?”
Moses had every comfort he could wish for in the palace and he could have stayed there. But he had an identity crisis: “Who am I? Am I a Jew or am I an Egyptian? Am I going to live with a bunch of Jewish slaves or am I going to stay here and live in luxury in the palace?”
What would you have done? What decision would you have made?
Every one of us must come to grips with this issue of identity. We all have a deep need to accept who we are. If you try to be somebody you’re really not – it’s a quick way to get an ulcer. Moses recognized this tension and he decided to quit pretending. He accepted his true identity. If you want to have peace of mind you need to:
Know Who You ARE
It is a liberating experience when you relax and quit trying to be somebody you’re not. The foundation for peace of mind is: “don’t try to be someone you’re not.” Relax and be yourself. God made you and He loves you just the way that you are – warts and all. You’re special to Him.
You can pretend to be someone else or you can accept God’s plan and be who you were really meant to be in the first place. How would we remember Moses today if he had stayed in Pharaoh’s court? Maybe we would remember him as an Egyptian mummy in some museum! But he made the hard decision and “By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.”
The second question is:
2. “Who do I want to be?” (v. 25)
Verse twenty five deals with this issue. It says:
“(Moses) choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.” Heb 11:25
This is the matter of personal responsibility. Moses “choose” the direction he was going to go. The Bible says that Moses chose to be mistreated with the rest of God’s people rather than to enjoy the sinful pleasures of Pharaoh’s palace. First he refused to be what he really wasn’t and then he chose to go God’s way.
There is a principle here – it is: All our decisions have consequences.
The choice he made resulted in “ill-treatment with the people of God.”
The truth is - you don’t just stop doing something – you start doing something else. He gave up the pleasures of sin – but he endured the ill-treatment with the people of God.
The Christian life is NOT a matter of negative rules and regulations – it’s a matter of relationships. It’s a matter of a relationship with God. It’s a matter of relationships with others. It’s a matter of a relationship with yourself. Living true to God – does not always bring earthly rewards. But it always brings a blessing from God.
You see God is more concerned with our character than He is with our comfort. He is more concerned with our holiness than He is with our happiness. Moses choice led him to a rough life and a blessed life. He chose his path. He took personal responsibility for it.
We live in a society that likes blame other people or situations for our problems – but no-one wants to take the blame today. All of us love to give blame but we all hate to be blamed. It’s easy to blame others for your condition: “I’d be more committed to Christ if my family were Christians.” “I’d be a better person today if I had better parents.”
Well to be truthful with you – the blame game goes back a long way. It goes back to Adam and Eve. After Adam had eaten the forbidden fruit God asks him what he had done. Do you remember his answer? He said:
"The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." Genesis 3:12 (NASB)
Adam blamed Eve for his situation – but notice in a round about way he blamed God too: “"The woman whom You gave to be with me” We like to blame others. When God asked Eve how she got into this fix she said:
"The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Genesis 3:13 (NASB)
It’s easy to blame others. But Moses didn’t blame anyone else: He assumed the responsibility for his own life and decided to make his life count. That’s the second key to living with peace of mind:
Accept Your RESPONSIBILITIES
It is true – of course – that there are many things in your life over which you have no control. You had no control over who your parents were. You had no control over where you were born. You had no control over the genes that went into your makeup. But there is one thing which you have absolute control over and that is how you response toward life.
How are you going to respond? It’s your choice. You cannot choose all the circumstances that come into your life but you can choose whether those things will make you a bitter person or a better person. It’s your choice. It’s your responsibility. No one can ruin your life except you! The devil can’t do it because he doesn’t have enough power. God won’t because He loves you. Only you can ruin your own life.
Accept your responsibilities.
That leads us to question three:
3. “What is important in my life?” (v. 26)
There is another issue that Moses faced. He regarded living for Christ to be greater value than the treasures of Egypt. Moses faced the issue of priorities. He decided what was really important in life. Look at verse twenty six:
“considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” Hebrews 11:26 (NASB)
From the human standpoint young Moses had everything. He had ultimate power – ultimate pleasure – ultimate possessions. Much of the riches of the world at that time were stored in Egypt. Moses had what most people spend their entire lives trying to get: power – pleasure – possessions. Yet God asked Moses to do something that was more important – so he did it. It was a matter of priority in his life.
Most people want to be liked in their community but there’s one problem with popularity – It Does Not Last. You can be a Big Man on Campus for a while but when you return a few years after graduation you’ll find that nobody knows you. Popularity just doesn’t last.
Then there’s always pleasure. Is pleasure wrong? No, it’s not wrong to have pleasure unless it’s your god. But we live in a pleasure possessed society: “You only go around once in life, so you’d better do it with gusto.” “Do your own thing.” “If it feels good, do it.” But there’s a problem with pleasure too - It Does Not Last. Moses rejected temporary pleasures because he had his values right – he had his vision on something higher.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with having possessions. Some of the greatest saints of the Bible were extremely wealthy including Job, Abraham, and David. But Jesus said life was more than possession when He said:
"Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." Luke 12:15 (NASB)
Wealth simply will not bring ultimate happiness – ask the people who have it. How much money does it take to be happy? Usually just a little bit more. Money is to be used – not loved. God wants you to use things and love people. But if you love things – you’ll use people. Moses had his priorities right – he rejected material things because there was something more important in his life. So here is what we need to do:
Decide Your PRIORITIES
And the final question is:
4. “How am I going to live?” (v. 27)
The final issue Moses settled was the matter of perseverance. You could almost sum up Moses’ life in two words – he endured. Verse twenty seven tells us:
“By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.” Hebrews 11:27 (NASB)
It is a fact of life that there is no gain without pain. There is no advancement without adversity. There is no progress without problems.
Moses made a success of his life because he endured. The key to his peace of mind was that he knew difficulties come into every life and he faced his head on. As Christians we should never let problems destroy us – we should let problems draw us closer to God. I heard someone say - we should never let problems get us down – unless it is to our knees in prayer. God allows these difficulties in our lives for specific reasons. Therefore you should:
Face Your DIFFICULTIES
When we face our difficulties head on – we can have – peace of mind. Did you know that God did not call us to be beautiful? He did not call us to be smart. He did not call us to be wise. He called us to be faithful and that is what we need to do. We need to be faithful to the end.
Without persistence you won’t go far in life. Peace of mind comes when you know who you are – when you accept responsibility for choices in your life – when you choose God’s priorities – when you face your difficulties head-on. May we be faithful – faithful until the very end.
(I would like to thank Rick Warren for the sermon starter ideas.)
