Peace of Mind: Part 2 Kathryn Kuhlman 3 Helpful Hints to Have Peace

i went to see a wise old man and he was very kind what is life's greatest gift i asked and he answered peace of mind when i met a great physician i was quite surprised to find that he thought the finest medicine was simply peace of mind And so I pass this on to friends who would leave all gloom behind. The key to life's great mystery consists of peace of mind. And the only one who can give the peace that passeth all understanding is Jesus Christ himself. You and I have been having some good heart -to -heart talks. Well, anyway, I enjoyed them. You know, sometimes after I finished a sermon and I walk off of the platform, I think, well, if nobody else enjoyed the service today, I sure did. You know, it's kind of like that. And so I guess. That's the reason why way back there I started calling these little times of fellowship that you and I have together just heart -to -heart talks. Yes. It's, um, I'm talking to myself. And, uh, you see, I preach to myself. I do everything in the world to put into practice everything that I talk to you about. It's just like that. And one thing that I have found out a long time ago, and that is the fact that the Christian way is the natural, the normal way of living. And it's just like that. And all on earth that I'm trying to do in these down -to -earth talks is just teaching you how to live. I told you the other day that in this generation, I've come to the conclusion that we know all there is about life. Take a youngster, take a child, 12 years of age. You'd be amazed. You would be awed when you fully realized how much that youngster knows about life. And yet, with all of our knowledge regarding life, we know everything about it except how to live it. And so we continue just discussing this thing. regarding how to live. There are more folk worrying about their nerves. There are more folk on the very borderline of a nervous breakdown. There are more folk who are taking tranquilizers. Some are taking pills to sleep. Others are taking pills to keep awake. Some are taking pills to relax. Some, well, we are living in a pill generation. A pill for this and a pill for that until we're just pill to death. Let's go back. use some good old -fashioned common sense along with a simple trust and confidence in Almighty God, and after all is said and done, all we need is peace of mind and peace of soul, and He's the one who can give that. I told you, you know, the three rules for a poised life. And I believe that if you can honestly... Live according to these three simple rules. You'll never have to worry about a nervous breakdown. You'll never have to get your prescriptions filled for your nerves. Oh, sure. All right, the first. And we discuss this briefly in our last Heart to Heart Talk. Get the right mental picture of your own life. And when you get the right mental picture of your own life, you're going to be surprised how differently the whole world will look to you. You know, most of us have a distorted view. Most of us think of ourselves as being hemmed in. by a vicious circle of impossible demands. From every side we see tasks and burdens and problems and responsibilities rushing at us. Oh, there's so much confusion and it isn't long before we find ourselves frustrated. Every moment we have a dozen things to do. I find myself caught up in that vicious circle. The cruel pressure that never relaxes. You know exactly what I'm talking about. That pressure, that pressure from the time that we awaken in the morning until we go to sleep at night. That terrific pressure. And not any one of us can relax under this pressure. We're always overburdened. We're always overtired. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Mm -hmm. I suggested the other day that we think of our life as an hourglass. Our problems must be single file. That's what the Bible talks about when it says sufficient... Unto the day is the evil thereof, one day at a time. Life is a book in volumes three, the past, the present, the yet to be. The first we've read and we've laid away. The second we're reading day by day. The third and last of volumes three is hidden from view. God. holds that key. Remember that. Just remember that. Oh, sure. Now we come to the second thing that is most important. Scale down the demands that you are making on other people. You may not realize that for years you have been making demands on those around about you. You may be a mother in the home. You may be the husband, the head of the household. A son. You may be the employer. You may be the employee. You have not been... are the demands that you are not only making on yourself, but on other people. Children make this demand openly. We as adults make it in secret ways, but all of us make it. We wait for applause. We seek approbation. We seek praise for every little... thing that we do. After we've done it, we stand around and we wait for somebody to pat us on the head or pat us on the back or shake our hand and say, oh, that's great. We're anxious to know what people will say about it. We think that surely someone will observe how skillful we really are. We live our lives. demanding expressions of gratitude from the individuals that we help. We wonder how soon they're going to notice us, how soon we're going to receive thanks, gratitude. Yeah. Oh, my friend, I repeat. You'll save yourself an awful lot of wear and tear on yourself if you'll just scale down the demands that you're making on other people. Forget each kindness that you do as soon as it is done. Forget the praise that falls to you the moment. It is one. Forget the slander that you hear before you repeat it. So get each spite, each slight, each sneer, wherever you may meet it. Remember each kindness done for you, whatever may be its measure. Remember... Praise by others one and pass it on with pleasure. Remember every promise made and keep it to the letter. Remember those who lend you aid and be a grateful debtor. Remember all the happiness that comes your way in living and then forget each worry and distress. Be hopeful and forgiving. Remember good. Remember truth. Remember heavens above you. And you'll find through age and youth that many hearts will love you. It works. A really great person. big person, a mature person, has learned to forget and remember. But wisdom, true wisdom, is knowing what to forget and what to remember. All right? Here comes the third thing. Are you still with me? Oh, you know, there are those who will listen to me. This is just some good old Missouri cornbread. It doesn't have the butter on it today. It doesn't even have the molasses. It's just good old -fashioned cornbread. But there are some people who really cannot see. any of these faults in themselves. Even when I'm speaking, if somebody said, yes, ma 'am, that's Mrs. Borkstedt. I hope she has a radio on. I hope she's listening. Somebody else says, now, I hope Sarah is hearing this. This would be so good for her. Right now, you forget about Sarah. And Ethel and Kim. Look yourself directly in the face. At any cost, keep your world from growing small. And this is especially important to people who are approaching middle life. It's so easy. To grow small in your thinking, small in your living, small in your ideas. As someone wrote regarding a certain character in his book, Edith was a little country bounded on the north and south and east and west by Edith. Uh -huh. You know, some of us let our world shrink so that presently we find ourselves literally living in a miserably restricted area, surrounded only by our own feelings and our own interests. And so few people realize what's happening to them. So very few people. And when... Ever one's world becomes limited, becomes small, it is long before we resort to self -pity. If when your husband comes home at night, comes home from work, he's tired, he doesn't want to hear all about what the neighbors are doing. It's a small talk to him. He doesn't care that when Lily came over and borrowed a cup of sugar, that she stayed for at least two hours and gave you all the gossip in the neighborhood. And then when your husband comes home, immediately you'll say, Lily came over today and this is what she said. You know, Mrs. So -and -so bought a brand new sewing machine. And the salesman is a relative of hers. And she just put the down payment on it. And they want to act so smart. They want to act so big. And, you know, now your husband is tired. And he'll say, honey, let's just be quiet a little bit and relax. And immediately there's self -pity. He's doing this to me. Here I've been at home all day. I haven't had anybody to talk to. Just the children. And it isn't long before you're in tears. Forget the smallness of your world. And... Don't let it become your master whatever you do. If you will permit your small world to become your master and you're mastered by it, it isn't long before you will have resulted to self -pity. And do not permit yourself to accept pity either from yourself or from any other man. Self -pity is the most dangerous form of emotional charity. It may seem to comfort you at the time, but beware of such comfort. It'll turn you into a spiritual bum, a whiny weakling, ever on the watch for handouts. It does not matter what fate has done to you. You will be crippled in body. broken financially, cheated, despoiled by life, robbed by death of the thing that was dearest to you. Still within you, there will remain something that is unbeaten, something that may inspire respect and command service. And still, no matter what happens to you, you can come back if you don't take step. pity if your world has not become small. Think big. Forgive big. Act big. The one who controls you is big. God almighty. May your thinking, may your world may your living be as big as god himself oh sure ah it matters not how straight the gate how charged with punishments the scroll in a real sense and the master of my fate and the captain of My soul, I know those are noble words. Make them your words. Stand up straight in your rags. Stand unquivering in your wounds. God alone knows what's around the corner. God alone knows if there is a corner. or if there is anything around that corner. But this moment is yours. Your life is yours. Make it big. Live a full life. Whatever you do, my friend, whatever you do, at any cost, keep your world keep your thoughts keep your life from growing small