House of Hope Online

July 26, 2026

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Over the last few weeks, we have been talking about freedom from oppression and depression.  We looked at Peter’s miraculous release from prison in Acts 12, and Paul and Silas’ prison doors opening in Acts 16.  Last week we focused on the jailer from Acts 16, who was delivered from a spirit of suicide into the freedom of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Psalms 34:18 tells us the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

We also learned last week that mental health is a battle that must be waged in the spirit realm.  Ephesians 6:10-13 teaches us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might because our struggle is against spiritual forces of darkness. To stand firm against the devil, we need the full armor of God, which is comprised of truth, righteousness, faith, the word of God, and praying in tongues.

Finally, we learned that God has given us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind (2nd Timothy 1:7).  He has plans for our sound mind, plans for welfare and prosperity, to give us a future and a hope.

Today, I feel in my spirit that the Lord wants to continue this word about guarding our hearts and minds in this darkened world.  He has brought more passages to keep us on the path of mental health.

I want to start where we ended last week in Philippians 4 and Paul’s admonishment to be anxious for nothing.

Philippians 4:

 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

Paul gives great mental health advice in verse 8 by telling us to let our minds dwell on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise.  If you take this verse seriously, you will eliminate a lot of the things that cause fear, anxiety, and strife in your life.

More on Guarding Your Mind

Psalms 37 gives a recipe for mental health.

Psalms 37:

 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

 4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

 6 And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday.

 7 ¶ Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, [it leads] only to evildoing.

 9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

Trust in the Lord. Delight yourself in Him.  Commit your way to Him.  Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.  Do not fret, it leads to evildoing.  Trust the Lord that evil will be defeated in His timing.  Wait on His timing, and you will inherit the land.

I have always loved verse 4 – delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.  The Hebrew word for “Delight” means to be soft and pliable before Him.  In other words, get into His presence and be flexible.  Focus on whatever is on His heart.  So many times, we focus on our needs instead of just enjoying His presence.  Delight in Him, pray what He wants prayed.  Maybe someone else needs prayer in that instant, or He will urge you to intercede for salvations.  If we delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart.

Verse 5 is equally profound.  Commit your way to the Lord.  A lot of our stress comes from wanting our own way, whether it is the Lord’s will or not.  If His will is our priority, then we can trust Him to do it. 

Commit to the Lord

The Apostle Paul’s life is one that we can learn from.  His commitment to the Lord got him into trouble with the authorities as he spread the Gospel.  Even though they beat him, threw him in prison, and made him stand trial, he never lost his freedom because he was committed to the Lord and worshipping in His presence.  You are not in prison if you don’t mind being there.

In Acts 20, Paul was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, and he relayed to the elders how the Holy Spirit warned him it would not be easy.

Acts 20:

 22 “And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,

 23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.

 24 “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

Verse 24 is key to Paul’s life and our happiness.  The Apostle never counted his life as dear to himself.  He was so one with Christ that any suffering he endured could not compare to the glory that is to be revealed to him (and to us).  He was singularly focused on the ministry he received from the Lord Jesus.  Notice he did not even consider it his own ministry – it was the Lord’s.

He was able to withstand the suffering because he knew there is glory coming.

Romans 8:

 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

If we can emulate Paul’s attitude toward life, it will go a long way toward granting us mental health.  If we can keep focused on the coming Rapture and the glory to be revealed to us, any present suffering will pale by comparison.  The peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

If we delight ourselves in Jesus, He will give us the desires of our heart.  He will grant us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.  Thank you, Lord!

Rest and Wait

I want to go back to Psalms 37:7-9 and the idea of resting and waiting for the Lord.

Psalms 37:

 7 ¶ Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, [it leads] only to evildoing.

 9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

The Hebrew word for “rest” means to stop, forbear, hold peace, quiet self, be silent, be still, tarry, and wait.  In a world where multitasking is admired and even required, “resting” in the Lord takes conscious effort.  It is not our nature today to rest.  We try to squeeze the most out of each day.  But God’s word tells us to rest in Him.

Enter His Rest

It is one thing to rest, and quite another to enter the Lord’s rest.  When we enter the Lord’s rest, He does a work that strengthens us and guides us for the challenges ahead.  Hebrews 4 describes “entering” His rest as a requirement and emphasizes that time is of the essence.

Hebrews 4:

 1 ¶ Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.

 2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.

 4 For He has thus said somewhere concerning the seventh [day], “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS”;

 5 and again in this [passage], “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.”

 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,

Note verse 6 indicates our failure to “enter” His rest is disobedience.  God requires us to enter His rest because it is essential to our mental health and to our faith.  This requirement is the basis for the Sabbath rest for the people of God.

Hebrews 4:

 9 There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

 11 ¶ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through [following] the same example of disobedience.

So how do we enter His rest?  Whenever God requires us to do something, He gives us the ability to do it by the Holy Spirit.

Exodus 33:

 14 And He said, “My presence shall go [with you,] and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11 (Jesus speaking):

 28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Psalms 100:

 1 ¶ (A Psalm for Thanksgiving.) Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.

 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.

 3 Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; [We are] His people and the sheep of His pasture.

 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving, [And] His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name.

 5 For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations.

Psalms 150:

 1 ¶ Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse.

 2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.

 3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre.

 4 Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.

 5 Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals.

 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

Closing

In closing then, the word of God for us today is to rest and wait. Philippians 4 instructs us to pray with thanksgiving, and the peace of God will surpass our comprehension and guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Psalms 37 gives a formula to trust the Lord, delight in Him, commit to Him, rest in Him and wait on Him.  Hebrews 4 warns that entering His rest is not optional. 

We enter His rest by entering His presence.  We enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.  We praise Him in His sanctuary.  We praise His mighty deeds and His excellent greatness.  We praise Him with music, singing, and dancing.  But once we are in His presence, we rest.  We stop, forbear, hold our peace, and quiet ourselves.  We are to be still, know He is God, and wait on Him for wisdom, guidance, and rest.

Let us pray.

Father God, we thank You for this word on resting in Your presence and waiting on Your peace, wisdom, and love.  We trust in You, we delight in You, and we commit our lives to You.  Thank You for allowing us to enter Your rest.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen.

If anyone has not yet received the Lord Jesus Christ in their heart, and desires to do so, please repeat this prayer after me:

Father God, I repent of my sin and ask for forgiveness today.  I confess and declare with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with all my heart that You raised Him from the dead for the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus, please come into my heart and change me.  Send the Holy Spirit to guide and direct me in wisdom and to enable me to overcome temptation from this day forth.  Thank You for my salvation.  I look forward to the day of the Rapture when I can be with You forever.  Amen.