21 Ways to Finding Peace and Happiness (38 page)
We have examined many of the ways he will steal our peace in great detail, but the important thing is to be determined to have peace no matter how long it takes, or what it requires.
Crave peace, pursue and go after it!
I love that statement. Each time I hear or read it, I feel a surge of determination within me to enjoy the life of peace that Jesus died to give me.
S
ATAN
S
TEALS
P
EACE
Satan relentlessly attempts to steal everything God has provided for His children through Jesus Christ. Peace is one of the biggies; it is one of the things he works extra hard to prevent us from enjoying. Remember,
we have peace
—Jesus provided it—but
we must appropriate it.
Satan does everything he can to keep us from doing so, beginning with deception; he wants us to think that peace is not possible, that it is not even an option.
How can we remain peaceful while life seems to be falling apart around us? He screams into our ears when we have a challenging situation, “What are you going to do? What are you going to do?”
We frequently don’t know what to do, nevertheless, Satan pressures us for answers that we don’t have. He tries to make us believe it is our responsibility to solve our problems when the Word of God clearly states that our job as believers is to believe. We believe, and God works on our behalf to bring answers to meet our needs.
A good example appears in Exodus 14. The Egyptians were pursuing the Israelites; all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and army were in pursuit of God’s people. When the Israelites found themselves stuck between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, it seemed hopeless. They could see no way out, so naturally, they became fearful and upset. They began to complain and make accusations against their leader, Moses. “Moses told the people, Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest” (Exodus 14:13–14).
It may have sounded foolish to the Israelites to stand still, hold their peace, and remain at rest, but that was God’s instruction to them—it was their way of deliverance. When we remain peaceful in tumultuous circumstances, it clearly shows that we are trusting God. We often say, “God, I trust You,” yet our actions show that we do not.
The lies of Satan steal our peace; however, the truth sets us free. Satan’s lie is that we have to take care of ourselves: The truth is, God will take care of us as we place our trust in Him. When I began to practice this “peace principle” of simply trusting God, I actually felt guilty, as if I were not doing my part. I felt obligated to worry and try to figure out how to solve the current problem. This, of course, is exactly what Satan wants. He desires more than anything to bestir us to action that is useless. Then we end up exhausted and discouraged.
To enjoy a life of peace, you will need to examine your own life to learn what your “Peace Stealers” are. Satan uses some of the same things on everyone, but we also have things that are particular to each one of us. For example, one person may be very disturbed by having to do two things at one time, while another person may actually be challenged and energized by multitasking and doing several projects at once. We are all different, and we must learn to know ourselves.
My husband is not the least bit concerned about hearing that someone is talking unkindly about him, but he is easily disturbed when a driver does not stay in his lane of traffic or cuts in front of us. I am just the opposite. Although I would not appreciate unsafe driving, it does not disturb me as much as hearing I am being accused unjustly.
When our children are going through hard things, Dave says it is good for them and will help build their character; on the other hand, I want to rescue them. Since we are all different, Satan uses different things on each of us, and he usually has studied us long enough to know exactly what buttons to push at what time.
I can endure things better when I am not tired, and the devil knows this, so he waits to attack until I am worn-out. I learned by pursuing peace what Satan already knew about me, and now I try not to get overly tired because I know I am opening a door for Satan when I do.
It will be virtually impossible to enjoy a life of peace if you don’t study to know what your Peace Stealers are. Keep a list of each time you get upset. Ask yourself what caused the problem, and write it down. Be honest with yourself, or you will never break free.
You may have things on your list like this:
• I didn’t get my way.
• I had to hurry.
• I became impatient and got angry.
• Financial pressure upset me.
• I was too tired to deal with anything.
• I had to deal with a certain person who always frustrates me.
• A friend embarrassed me.
• I was in a traffic jam.
• A very slow clerk waited on me.
• A friend disappointed me.
• I got a stain on my dress.
You will have a lot of different things on your list, but it will help you to realize what bothers you. Remember, we cannot do anything about things we don’t recognize. That the truth sets us free is a wonderful fact from God’s Word that has truly been life-changing for me. Of course, truth must be faced in order for it to help anyone. This is often the painful part. Why does truth hurt? Simply because we don’t like to see ourselves as we really are, and we have spent a lifetime developing systems of escape through making excuses and blaming others for our problems.
For many years, every time I became upset, in my mind it was always someone else’s fault. I thought,
If Dave would just act differently, then I would not get upset. If life was not so challenging, then I could live peacefully. If my children would behave better, I could enjoy peace.
In my mind, my loss of peace was never my fault; it was always something and someone else’s fault.
Only when I took responsibility for my reactions and decided to pursue peace did I begin to see change. Excuses and blaming others does us no good at all. If this has been your pattern, as it was mine, I strongly encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to you
about you,
and it will be the beginning of enjoying a life of peace.
P
EACE
E
QUALS
P
OWER
I have learned through my experience as well as God’s Word that peace is power. That is one of the big reasons that Satan tries to steal our peace all the time. He wants all of God’s children to be weak and powerless, not strong and powerful.
Maintaining your peace is your power over Satan. Consider this Scripture: “And do not [for a moment] be frightened or intimidated in anything by your opponents and adversaries, for such [constancy and fearlessness] will be a clear sign (proof and seal) to them of [their impending] destruction, but [a sure token and evidence] of your deliverance and salvation, and that from God” (Philippians 1:28).
We see that remaining peaceful is a clear sign to Satan of his upcoming defeat.
Peace is power!
We studied in an earlier chapter that the Bible teaches us that staying calm and giving a “soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). In other words, if someone is angry and yelling, answering him or her calmly and gently will change the situation and stop the possibility of an argument. How awesome! But in order for this to work, one of the people in the situation must be willing to humble him- or herself and respond the opposite of how he or she might feel like responding. Someone has to choose to be a peacemaker in every situation.
Even when a person is sick, staying peaceful and calm will help him or her recover more quickly. Just think of the instructions given to a woman in labor. I was told to “Breathe deeply,” “Don’t get tense,” “Don’t be fearful,” “Stay calm,” and that if I relaxed, the labor would be easier. In other words, when difficult situations face us, becoming upset only makes them worse—it does not help. Being upset steals our power; it does not release it.
The Word states that “the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]” (2 Timothy 2:24).
Why is a servant of the Lord required to be a peacemaker? I believe the Lord instructs us to avoid quarrels because they not only hurt our own witness to the world, but they also cause us to lose our power. We need to walk in this world with power—power against the forces of darkness. Satan seeks to stir up strife between people because we walk in power only when we walk in peace.
Second Timothy 2 continues to tell us clearly how a peacemaker is to train in the skill of keeping peace with others:
He must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong. He must correct his opponents with courtesy and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth [that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it], and that they may come to their senses [and] escape out of the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, [henceforth] to do His [God’s] will. (2 Timothy 2:24–26)
I realized that often Dave and I got into arguments or experienced turmoil right before we went out to minister to people or conduct a seminar. It took a while for us to see Satan’s plan, but finally we understood that the devil was “setting us up to be upset” so he could steal our power.
Proverbs 17:1 says that a house full of sacrifices with strife is not pleasing to the Lord. In other words, we could make all kinds of sacrifices of time and effort to try to help people, yet God is not pleased unless we stay in peace.
Pursuing peace means making an effort. We cannot maintain peace simply by our own fleshly effort; we need God’s help, and we need grace, which is His power assisting us and enabling us to do what needs to be done. The effort we make must be
in Christ.
So often we just try to do what is right without asking for God’s help, and that type of fleshly effort never produces good fruit. The Bible calls this a “work of the flesh.” It is man’s effort trying to do God’s job.
What I am saying is, be sure you lean on God and ask for His help. When you succeed, give Him the credit, the honor, and the glory because success is impossible without Him. Jesus said, “Apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
It takes most of us a long time to believe this Scripture enough to stop trying to do things without leaning on God. We try and fail, try and fail; it happens over and over until we finally wear ourselves out and realize that God Himself is our strength, our success, and our victory. He doesn’t just give us strength—He is our Strength. He does not just give us the victory—He is our Victory. Yes, we make an effort to keep peace, but we dare not make an effort without depending on God’s power to flow through us; failure is certain if we do.
The Lord blesses Peacemakers, those who work for and make peace. Peacemakers are committed to peace; they crave peace, pursue peace, and go after it. Jesus promised: “Blessed (enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they shall be called the sons of God!” (Matthew 5:9).
Peacemakers take the first step in working things out when disagreement, disharmony, or disunity exists. They work toward peace; they don’t just hope or wish for it, they don’t even just pray for it. They aggressively pursue it in the power of God.
Make a commitment to pursue peace from this day forward: to discover all you can about what your Peace Stealers are, to know yourself and face the truth that will set you free.
Call yourself a peacemaker, one who works for and makes peace with God, himself, and others.
Joyce Meyer is one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers. A #1
New York Times
bestselling author, she has written more than seventy inspirational books, including
Look Great, Feel Great,
the entire Battlefield of the Mind family of books, and many others. She has also released thousands of audio teachings as well as a complete video library. Joyce’s
Enjoying Everyday Life
® radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences. Joyce and her husband, Dave, are the parents of four grown children and make their home in St. Louis, Missouri.
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The Confident Woman
Look Great, Feel Great
Battlefield of the Mind
*
Battlefield of the Mind Devotional
Approval Addiction
Ending Your Day Right
In Pursuit of Peace
The Secret Power of Speaking God’s Word
Seven Things That Steal Your Joy
Starting Your Day Right
Beauty for Ashes Revised Edition
How to Hear from God
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Knowing God Intimately
The Power of Forgiveness
The Power of Determination
The Power of Being Positive
The Secrets of Spiritual Power
The Battle Belongs to the Lord