The Road to the Peace of Christ in John 20:21 with the insights of the 8-point findings from Duke University's study on "peace of mind"

SCRIPTURE: John 20:21
Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

STORY:
Duke University did a study on "peace of mind." Factors found to contribute greatly to emotional and mental stability are:
1) the absence of suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge was a major factor in unhappiness.
2) Not living in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression.
3) Not wasting time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it.
4) Force yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress.
5) Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune.
6) Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues--love, humor, compassion and loyalty.
7) Do not expect too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable.
8) Find something bigger than yourself to believe in. Self-centered egotistical people score lowest in any test for measuring happiness.

OBSERVATION:
I believe that Duke’s “peace of mind” study actually proved the truthfulness of scripture. Jesus promised peace as he sent his disciples out into the world. He knew that we would not experience peace until we gave ourselves to something larger and more meaningful than ourselves.

Picking up on the insight of a great marriage counselor I followed his teachings as couples would seek their pastor out for marriage counselor. I would listen carefully to their list of troubles and areas of conflict. We would prayer together and then I would give them their homework that had to be completed before the next session could be scheduled. The homework was that they were both to complete at least 15 hours of community service. Guess what? Most of them came back with the same response … problem solved and the marriage was healed. When we give ourselves to something greater than ourselves the miracle of God takes place in our hearts and minds and peace is achieved.

Read again the eight contributing factors to emotional and mental stability in the Duke study and see if you don’t agree.

PRAYER:
Gracious Lord, we seek peace, we long for peace, we pray for peace, we hope for peace … guide us beyond ourselves so that we might make the discovery of your peace. Amen.