After You Believe That You are Not a Sinner, What is Next?“ Inner peace beyond understanding”

Article By:

George A. Beckett, Sr. MA

July 22, 2026

          Philippians 4:7 says, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." This describes a place every Christian should desire to reach—a life of complete trust and dependence on God.

          Just before His death, Jesus declared, "It is finished" (John 19:30). His work of redemption was completed. The believer's response is to trust Him and enter His rest. Hebrews 4:9-11 teaches that there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, and those who enter that rest cease from their own works just as God rested from His. This rest is not inactivity but confidence that God is in control and that Christ has accomplished everything necessary for our salvation.

          Why is this so important? Because resting in Christ frees us from living in constant anxiety, fear, and self-reliance. Instead, we trust God's sovereign care, knowing that Jesus Christ sits at the Father's right hand as our Advocate and intercessor.

          Psalm 37:7 instructs us, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." This rest is an active choice to stop striving in our own strength and to surrender every area of life to God.

          Romans 8:34 reinforces this truth: "Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." Jesus is alive, reigning, and continually interceding for His people.

          Embracing these truths is a mark of spiritual maturity. While trials and hardships will come, believers can experience God's peace in the midst of them because their confidence rests in Christ rather than in circumstances.

          Resting in Christ is a declaration of faith in who He is and what He has done. He calmed the sea, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, and through His death and resurrection secured eternal life for all who believe in Him. Because of His power, faithfulness, and finished work, we can trust Him with every part of our lives.

          As we mature in our walk with Christ, our confidence increasingly rests not in ourselves but in Him. Then the peace of God guards our hearts and minds because our trust is anchored in the risen Lord who reigns forever and holds all things in His hands.

          But how does each Christian get to the inner peace, the place of resting in the Lord, and what does it look like?

          I illustrate this with a picture my wife and I have in our living room. In the picture below is a lake with a really calm surface. This picture illustrates the calm inner peace that I have reached. I truly do not want to leave this peace once I have it. So, I have attached everything, like my mind, emotions, heart, will, eyes, and so forth, to the surface of that calm lake to let me know if a small ripple shows up (meaning something is happening that I need to pay attention to) in any of those areas of my life. I can then immediately turn this over to Jesus to handle. This prevents the ripple from turning into a wave or anything bigger and me losing my peace. The picture below represents that idea.

          In the picture below, you see a ripple forming, indicating a notice to me to pay attention and turn this ISSUE over to Jesus immediately IN PRAYER. This allows me to return to peace knowing that Jesus and the Holy Spirit will handle it and guide me before it becomes a huge wave that overruns me. So where does someone begin their journey to inner peace?

          The spiritual journey begins in the mind. Scripture makes this clear in Romans 12:2, “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.”

          Renewing your mind means choosing to embrace an inner peace (rest) that God promises. It is coming to the place of resting in the Lord rather than being ruled by fear, anxiety, or the pressures of the world. Reaching that place is not something we accomplish in our own strength. We need the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within every believer. Once your mind is made up, now place your will and emotions behind it. Then get in touch with the Holy Spirit within you.

          For a long time, I wrestled with an important question: Is the Holy Spirit really living in me, and will He truly guide me into that place of rest? This ultimately became a matter of faith. God says His Spirit lives within every believer, but there comes a point when each of us must decide whether we truly believe His Word. Have you ever wondered the same thing? I encourage you to bring that question honestly before Jesus in prayer. Ask Him to make His presence real to you as you learn to trust Him. John 14:13–14 says, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

          For me, the answer came through a very ordinary experience. One night I woke up much earlier than I wanted to and could not get back to sleep. Instead of lying there frustrated or trying to force myself to fall asleep, I decided to pray. I simply asked Jesus to help me through the Holy Spirit. As I prayed, I reminded myself of what God’s Word says about His Spirit living within me.

I spoke these familiar Scriptures aloud:

1 John 4:4: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Romans 8:11: “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

          As I spoke these verses, I chose to believe they were more than words I had memorized. They were God's truth about who lived within me. Rather than depending on my own efforts to solve the problem, I entrusted something as simple as falling asleep to the Lord. I rested in His promise instead of striving in my own strength.

          The next thing I knew, it was morning. I had fallen asleep peacefully, and it was time to get up. To someone else, that may seem like a small event. To me, however, it became deeply personal. God had answered a simple prayer in a practical way, reminding me that He cares about every part of our lives, not only the major crises we face.

          That experience strengthened my confidence in God's presence. It reminded me that the Holy Spirit is not merely a doctrine to be studied but a living Person who dwells within every believer. He guides, comforts, teaches, and helps us in both the ordinary and extraordinary moments of life. My faith was no longer resting only on what I knew intellectually; it was growing through personal experience as I learned to trust God's promises.

          This experience also reinforced an important lesson about entering God's rest. I did not have to bargain with God, make promises, or earn His help. I simply asked in faith and trusted Him. That is what resting in Christ looks like. As we bring even the smallest concerns to Him, we learn that His peace is not reserved for life's biggest battles. It is available in our everyday lives as we continually place our confidence in Him. So the areas that you rest in are a holistic approach where you rest in every area of your life: in your identity, your purpose, finances, joy, security, relationships, health, and peace.

          This is the journey God invites every believer to take. It begins by renewing the mind, grows through learning to trust the Holy Spirit, and matures into the abiding peace described in Philippians 4:7. As we continually surrender each ripple to Christ, His peace guards our hearts and minds, allowing us to rest securely in the One who is always with us.