Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid – John 14:27.
Many are seeking and searching for peace in shopping, drugs, alcohol, and people. This kind of peace will not last. But the peace that Jesus gives will last no matter what you maybe facing.
Peace is one of the most important and precious gifts that God has made available to us through Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches we need to search for peace (Let him eschew [turn away from] evil, and do good; let him seek peace and ensue [pursue] it – 1st Peter 3:11). Seek harmony, undisturbedness from fear, agitating, passions, moral conflicts, and anxiety.
The three areas we are to pursue and go after peace are in our relationship with God, others, and ourselves. To bring forth peace within ourselves, let’s stop rushing. Society is constantly in a hurry, rushing to get from one activity to next. Hurrying creates stress, and stress is the root cause of many diseases. Therefore, we must avoid giving ourselves to hurrying so that we cut off stress before it can develop.
Just like any other behavior, rushing begins in our mind; it starts with a wrong thought pattern. “I have to hurry up and get this done.” I have a million things to do, and there is not enough time or hours in the day to do it.” Thoughts like these establish our pace for a day, week, or even a lifetime of rushing. This mindset pressures us and sets the stage for stress to develop.
One way to keep these thoughts from coming is planning your day, week, or month, what needs to be done, and how long it will take to get it done. Stop telling yourself you need to rush and get things done. Stop saying you don’ have enough time in the day to complete what needs to be done.
Another way of removing stress is to avoid rushing is to live with margin. To live with margin means to leave room on both sides of planned events or commitments to take care of unexpected things that may come up. Avoid planning one appointment or task right behind another and not leaving time in between. One unplanned phone call, an accident, misplaced keys can throw our entire day in a whirlwind.
Being overcommitted is another major cause of a hurried life of no peace. You and I cannot be involved with everything and remain cool, calm, and collected. God has not called us to do everything, nor has He called us to fulfill every need we hear about. He gives us the grace to do what He has called us to do; this includes the gifts and talents and the energy, resources, and peace we need to accomplish the task.
Purchasing things we don’t need, but purchase them anyway and get ourselves in debt. Being in debt and not having enough money to pay the debt is financial pressure. This will steal your peace and keep you working extra hours for something you could have avoided.
Jesus came to give us peace, but when we get ourselves in situations in which He didn’t put us, we lose our peace. Have peace within yourself, and don’t allow anything or anyone to take that peace.