In this world, it is hard to find peace. With all the sickness, violence, war, and hate you don’t even have a chance to feel peaceful. But God’s word says that you can experience peace even in the midst of tough times.
WHAT KIND OF PEACE DOES GOD OFFER?
Jesus gave you his peace when he was trying to comfort the disciples before being taken to be killed on the cross.
John 14:27 says, "Peace I leave with you; My perfect peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. (Let my perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge) (Amp version).
Philippians 4:7 (NIV version) says, “And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus”.
The contemporary English version of the bible says it like this: “Then because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with a peace that no one can completely understand. And the peace will control the way you think and feel”.
I just love how that verse explains it but let me give you an example just incase you don’t quite understand.
MY STORY
If you have read any of my other posts I have mentioned that I have had severe anxiety in the past. And on this particular occasion, I was driving back from shopping at the mall. And on the way home I had a panic attack. My very first attack. And to make matters worse I had to be at work in 30 min.
Now I lived next to the restaurant that I worked at as a waitress, so I had a little bit of time before I had to be at work to try and calm myself down. So when I got home I called my doctor. The nurse took my information and said she would have the doctor contact me later and in the meantime, I was to try and take shorts breathes and to breathe into a paper bag.
By the way, breathing into a paper bag doesn’t really help with having a panic attack.
So I started calling some of the other employees to see if they could cover my shift. And of course, I couldn’t find anyone. And that made me panic even more. So I prayed for God to give me His perfect peace and to give me the strength to pull my 4-hour shift. And then off to work I went.
When I got to work the panic attack subsided. It was like I didn’t even have a panic attack at all. I was so calm and at peace. I just couldn’t explain it. Having a panic attack leaves you feeling like you got hit by a bus. It can take a day after the attack to start feeling normal again. But not this time. I felt that peace that Paul was talking about in Philippians 4:7. A peace that surpasses all understanding!
God had already known that I was going to have a panic attack and he knew I was going to have to work. I had to trust that He was going to help me get through my shift even though I was having a panic attack.
HOW DO YOU SEEK HIS PEACE?
When you call on Him, He will answer you. He is not a God of hate but he is a God of Love. Ask Him for that perfect peace. You need to realize that He wants to help you and He cares for you. Just like I did in my story you need to trust Him and rest knowing He will provide.
Although He allows bad things to happen, He has a purpose for them all. And they not only will glorify Him but be a blessing to you as well. You may not see it yet but trust that He is in control and knows what He is doing.
You also have to intentionally seek out his peace by separating the lies from the truth. For instance, right now I am going through a season in my life where I am body shaming myself, and every time I think negative thoughts about my body, I have to tell myself No! God made me unique and set me apart from everyone. I am fearfully and wonderfully made! (Psalms 139:14)
The more you change your thoughts to what the Lord says in his word, the more peace you will have.
Another way you can experience God’s peace is to list the things you are grateful for. Sitting down and listing those things will force your mind to go to a happy place. A great tool to have would be to start a gratitude journal. To start a journal you can check out my gratitude bundle.
This bundle is filled with material such as gratitude scripture cards and instructions on how to use them, coloring pages which are great therapy, 15 journaling pages to help you start journaling what you are grateful for, a gratitude tracker to help remind you of those things you are grateful for, gratitude affirmations that you can repeat daily to help develop a mind of gratitude, a calendar of activities to give you ideas in helping you show gratitude, and so much more. Click on the “Buy my product” button below to purchase my bundle!
A PRAYER FOR PEACE
I would like to give you a prayer of peace to help you when you need strength to keep going. Pray this as often as you need to in order for it to sink into your soul. And I pray you will start to truly feel that peace that God so deeply wants you to feel.
Lord, I exchange my thoughts of worry and fear, for thoughts of perfect peace and rest that can only be found in you. You are the God of my past, present, and future. Your grace has never failed me. You know the outcome of tomorrow because you have already been there. You will solve the problems of tomorrow because you have already been there. I will not allow worry to rob me of the peace and rest that you desire for my life. Thank you for taking such good care of me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen
CONCLUSION
Would you exchange your worry for peace today? And if you know of someone who needs this encouragement today could you please share this article with them? Thank you for being the reason that this article gets to those who desperately need some encouragement.
And I would love to have you follow me! You can do so by subscribing to my email list. You will get all my newest blog posts in your inbox once a week! Or follow me on Facebook for some more encouragement!
Thank you for the prayer of peace.
Your very welcome!
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