Peace is Yours

Lord, today we thank You for Your peace.

In John 14:27, the Bible tells us that Jesus has given us His peace, He actually left it with us. He did not give it to us like the world would give something... immediately ready to take it back at the first sign of trouble. Compared to how Christ would give us anything, the world could only go so far as to give us what is temporary, half-hearted, broken down, and attached to more strings than we can fathom.

When Jesus gives, He’s not trying to hand us anything under the table. He’s open, honest, and generous. He never takes anything back that He has already freely given (Romans 11:29).

Jesus said that He came to give us life: abundant, to the full, until it overflows (John 10:10). He came to give us freedom, simply so that we could be free (Galatians 5:1). He came to give us joy, and peace beyond understanding… peace that makes no sense (Philippians 4:6-7)… so that we could have the power within us, through Christ, to be completely at peace, even in the midst of the storm (Isaiah 26:3).

Take Heart

“…in this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

You CAN do hard things. “Do not LET your heart be troubled…” (John 14:27).

One of the greatest things we can do for ourselves in our daily private lives is to brutally and honestly acknowledge that “in this world we WILL have trouble.” Every day. All the time.

Acknowledge the trouble. Accept it. There will never be perfection this side of heaven.

Sometimes our lack of acceptance of issues, situations, and ongoing trouble is really our greatest problem. God is a miracle worker, and He can change every situation, if He so desires, BUT in this world you will have trouble. That’s a promise.

Our cars will always need maintenance. Our homes will always need constant care. Our children will always, from time to time, step on our very last nerve. There will always be political and social unrest, wars and rumors of wars, sickness and disease in this world in which we live. And people will always be people: perfectly imperfect, not exactly what we want them to be. Humans will always be human.

Accepting these facts will help us to hand them over to the Lord MUCH more easily, and more quickly!

Acceptance allows us to forgive, to let go, and to truly pray for the situations we are facing with a healthy level of detachment.

When we acknowledge that this world is full of trouble, and that we are not immune to it, we will stress LESS about the trouble, and be more INTENTIONAL about seeking the Lord for His help in our many times of need.

When the enemy wants us to bury our heads in the sand, get discouraged, and give up… mindful acceptance allows us to access our faith!

• “Yes, I see and acknowledge that this is happening, therefore I will hand it over to the Lord and begin to apply His truth to my situation! I will not worry, struggle, or strive. I will trust God.”

Believe God

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God…”

John 14:1

What we truly believe… not just what we say we believe, but what we truly believe in our hearts before God… will either give us peace, or take it away.

If I focus on whether or not I will be able to accomplish all that is set before me… if I begin comparing myself to someone else who seemingly has it all together (and no one ever does)… or if I constantly worry over how one thing or another will turn out, or how I can fix it, or how I can manipulate it to suit me…

I am just setting myself up for failure.

But when I set my heart on believing that I am loved beyond measure, and that the Lord will accomplish EVERYTHING that concerns me, then I can be at complete peace.

How do I know these things to be true? They are in His Word:

• “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.—” Ephesians 3:19
• “The LORD will accomplish that which concerns me; Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O LORD, endures forever—” Psalm 138:8

And now that I know this is what God’s Word says, I can choose to believe it and apply it to the thoughts in my mind, and the meditations of my heart.

This is where peace truly resides. In our thoughts and meditations. For truly, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he,” (Proverbs 27:3). Or as Joyce Meyer says, “Where the mind goes, the man follows.”

Let Him Have It and Don’t Take It Back

As we move forward out of striving and into all-surpassing peace, learning how to “Let Go” of things will be our greatest friend.

Letting go means placing a situation in God’s hands and turning around. It means fully releasing it and no longer looking at it, so you can leave it permanently in God’s gentle care.

Oh, this can be a painful process! But there are certain instances in which I know for sure that all I can do is mess it up, break it, or at the very least, just make things worse. In those cases, I have got to get my hands off so God can work. He is a God who is able to work inside the hearts of people and circumstances, bringing resolution from the inside out. He can bring things around for our good in ways that we simply cannot, and that is what He desires to do, in Jesus’ name (Romans 8:28).

So why not let Him?

Once you have done this, any time the situation comes to mind (and it definitely will), declare God’s truth over the matter, thank Him that He is already working, remind yourself that you Trust Him, and then LET IT GO AGAIN.

For two years, as I believed the Lord to take care of a situation on my behalf, when the situation repeatedly came back to mind, causing me a great amount of worry, I would practice trusting God by simply stating, “I release you to the Lord, and pray a blessing over you, in Jesus’ name.” Then I would distract my mind from thinking about that thing so I could let it go again.

This practice kept me in peace over the issue… allowed God to do His work by Himself (He doesn’t need my help)… and in the end, God took care of everything, vindicated me in an area in which I had been gravely misunderstood, and set a table for me in the presence of my enemies (Psalm 23:4-5).

All without my help. All without my constant worry. He is the only one who can work from the inside out!

All that to say…

You were not created to carry burdens. You are not a pack animal. You are a precious and beloved child of God. We are instructed to cast EVERY care upon the Lord because He cares for us. Many times we do not have peace because we are holding too tightly to something we have no business carrying in the first place.

The Lord is saying to us in this season, in every season, “Let it all go and follow Me.” We are called to live in the present, willingly and obediently following the Lord, doing all the things we know are right for us to do… with joy, peace, and abundant life. We are not great at this sometimes… and these are hard lessons to learn… but they are worth it!

This is my one life, I want to live it with peace and joy, even in the midst of every storm. We can do it together with Christ who gives us strength.

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way…”

2 Thessalonians 3:16