Finding Peace
Peace...it is something that we are looking for in our lives, but for most of us we never find the peace we are looking for. Most of us have probably tried yoga or reading a book to try and gain that peace. In most cases these all seem temporary.
Lately, I have been trying to find a type of peace that last, not just for a moment , but one that will last I have prayed about it and believe it or not I had a devotion and heard a sermon about finding peace through God. Now I am sure that you have heard that God can give you that peace, but you never seem to be able to achieve it. This was definitely me, but here are some things I learned from both my devotion and sermon.
1. You have to give-up control: If you want the peace that God offers you have to give everything up to God. He says that he will take all of your worries away if you just give them over to Him. How often do we really take all of all worries and stresses to God. I know that I don't very often. However, in the last few weeks I have just been giving everything over to him and my stress and worry levels have gone down.
2. You have to resolve any conflict and be a peace maker: We are so good at holding grudges and horrible at forgiving people, but God teaches us that no matter what someone does to you the deserve your forgiveness. Just look what Christ did for us, he went to the cross and dies for us while we will still sinners. If God can do that then why should we not forgive others. Not only do you have to resolve conflicts, but you also have to be prepared to be a peace maker and not conflict. One major thing you can do to spread peace to others and not cause conflict is meet others where they are. Don't judge them for what they have done, but choose to love them where they are in life and be there for them.
3. Learn how to love your life how it is: This maybe one of the hardest things to do because of of the media. We see what others have and we get jealous and greedy. Instead of being grateful for what we have.What we should be doing is waking up in the morning and thinking about what we are grateful each and everyday. Doing this in the morning not only helps your day to be better, but it also helps you thank God for what you have because He is where all blessings come from.
God promises that those who keep peace will reap harvest. Now I am not saying that this will happen overnight, but I have started to be more aware of these things and it has made me see life in a different way.
For Bible verses about peace check out these:
Colossians 3:15
1 Peter 3:11
James 3:18