How’s your peace today?
Are you walking in it?
Are you welcoming it?
Or are you preventing it?

There are a lot of things that prevent us from walking in His perfect peace! God’s peace is freely offered and without limit, but we have a responsibility to maintain it!

Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms?

How do we do this? I can tell you first hand that it isn’t through worrying and being fearful! And it isn’t by having a prideful attitude or by putting our confidence in ourselves. And finally, peace isn’t found in offenses. Whether unforgiveness or by thinking someone purposely tried to hurt you or put you down. Oh, they can and sometimes will, however, our responsibility is still not to let an offense work to rob us of our peace. The good news is that there is such a thing as reconciliation as difficult as that can sometimes be when we seek it out.

You see, we live and deal with imperfect people, kind of just like we are we!

I know the times I have bitten the bullet and gone to someone who has hurt me deeply. It was really hard, but the outcome was beautiful and began a mending of our broken relationship.

There have also been times when I was not very nice to someone. My husband can get the butt of my bad attitude sometimes. However, I am learning to recognize the conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit. When He prompts me to see my wrong in a situation. When I have elevated myself and lowered him. It isn’t pretty. When the Holy Spirit shows me what I’ve done, I have learned not to turn away from it but to look at Him, humble myself and admit the error of my way.

Surrender…

Admitting our issues can be a challenge and I admit that I might not want to go there. But as He works on me I surrender. Surrender, what a beautiful word! A word we tend to avoid rather than embrace! And believe it or not, practice will make it easier over time to let go of my justification and just deal with my bad!

I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit in my life. This amazing precious gift that Jesus Himself gave to His believers.

Jesus Says We Will Have Troubles

So, friends, Jesus reminds us that in this world we will have trouble! He also reminds us that we have the peace of Jesus. It was His gift to sustain us in our difficult times, those times that come to us on this side of glory. Then He says that He has overcome the world that brings us all the troubles we face as we try to blend in and fit into worldly living. (a thought for another time!)

I want to leave you with these lovely words Jesus gives us when we have been plagued with troubles…

John 14:27 TPT
“I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous!”

In The Passion Translation, the comment at the end of this verse is this…
These are the same words Moses gave before he died and the words God spoke to Joshua as he entered into his life’s plan of taking the promised land for Israel.

Take heart, we have been given what we need to make it through on our journey to the finish line…as we magnify Christ in us and in turn, glorify and honor Him with all that we are, for we are His ❤️