Heart, Then Mind: The way to peace and joy

The root of all anxiety is feeling like things are out of control. More specifically, out of our control. They are never out of God’s control. And as much as we may say we believe that, it’s hard to live in a way that confirms that belief. Peace won’t come until we are able to bring our heart and mind together in faith and trust in our Creator and Savior.

How is that possible? It starts with a simple concept, yet one that many of us find difficult to put into practice: Obedience.

We are not instructed to figure everything out first, before we can believe. We are utterly incapable, in our human minds, via human logic, to understand the ways of God or to see the future. If our belief depended on what we could see, or plan, it would be entirely based on our own ability. But mortal, natural humans do not exist in the same dimension as the immortal and supernatural God.

The way that we are to live may be counterintuitive to our natural minds, but it is the way, nonetheless, that God has given us to lead us back to Him and the peace He provides. He understands that our minds are broken by the sinful nature, and the only way to find healing is via the one thing we are still capable of: Making a choice to follow Him, even when we don’t, or can’t, fully understand.

It’s the simple, yet timeless, all-powerful Good News: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Belief in Jesus Christ. He is the One who died in your place and overcame death to overcome the power of sin for all who believe. Then, we are to live our lives in obedience to what He has taught us, that which has been recorded in the Bible.

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

There, then, is the progression of the heart and mind being unified. We believe in our heart and are justified — made right with God through Jesus Christ. Then, we will know the truth, and that is when the freedom from the struggle to bring our hearts and minds together will come. This is the most basic understanding of salvation: “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

In His mercy and grace, God has not asked us to jump through hoops, clean ourselves up, and figure everything out before coming to Him. He wants us only to have faith — and even in that, He provides us with the ability: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

What is faith? “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is not a crossing-our-fingers hope that we will get to heaven one day. It is knowing. Our hearts and our minds converge in a fantastic confidence of what is yet to come. That is the Christian life: continual faith in the God who knows and sees all. Hearts that believe, knowledge and truth that is revealed, and the ability to continue to trust in Him who will lead us to eternal life.

“For we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

The righteous will live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).

Even so, we do still live in these natural bodies, and God knows we will struggle sometimes to believe. But again, in His graciousness, He has not left us on our own.

“…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:26-28).

When we put our faith in Christ, He comes to live inside us via the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives through us, strengthening us, encouraging us, helping us to understand the truth, and interceding on our behalf — serving as our communication, directly with God. The Holy Spirit is our down payment for what is to come (Ephesians 1:14; 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5).

What a merciful God! With such promises, how can our hearts not desire to follow Him? And in so following, He gives us the strength to live lives that are pleasing to Him. And in such life is purpose, peace and joy forevermore.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).