Oct 04 2008
What are Your Peace Stealers?
Are there things in your life that are hindering you from living the peaceful life God provides for you? Peace doesn’t just happen, we have to go after it. Really, we have to fight for it. There are ways, however, that we can be proactive in protecting our peace. Think of the times in the past when you lacked peace. What caused you to feel that way? Once you are able to identify those times, you will be better able to recognize when they appear and nip them in the bud before they can completely manifest. Here are some of the peace stealers I have recognized in my own life.
I attribute this to my over-estimating my ability to multi-task. I used to pride myself on being able to do alot of things, all at once. While it may be possible to do 10 things at once, I have found that I can’t do all these things in excellence? I now concentrate on only doing as many things at a time that I can do well.
Lack of Planning
I don’t have peace when I am rushing. For example, church services are the same time every week. Knowing that, why do I wait to the last minute before getting ready? You would think I would have learned that it takes more than 30 minutes to get myself and 3 children dressed and ready to go. When I rush, that’s when one of the kids happens to spill something all over their clothes, one child can’t find a shoe, or you happen to get behind someone on the road that has no specific time at all to get where they are going. It’s impossible to operate in peace when I don’t plan ahead.
By this I mean that my drive to be accepted by and please others is so strong that it affects the choices and decisions I make. I am sensitive now that if I am asked to doing something and my mouth is saying one thing while my head is saying “man, I don’t want to do this”, I need to step back and consider what I am doing. James 1:8 says, “…a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” I realize now that it is okay to say no to others.
I group these together because they tend to hang out with each other. It is impossible for peace and worry (fear or dread) to co-exist. When I am losing sleep, dreaming about an issue, talking negatively about something I need to do, I know I need to pull out the Word. I lay the issue on the altar in prayer and then I begin to meditate on the following scripture John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Not Spending Enough Time With the Lord
This is a biggie. I truly believe that this is the main issue that causes me to lose peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. When I don’t spend the time I should with the Lord, I can sense the loss of peace. I now realize that it is essential to spend time with Him in the morning when I wake up, talk to him throughout the day and end the day thanking Him for keeping me that day. It is by spending time with Him that I can get built up, strengthened and receive the answers I need to my pressing issues. Prov 3:2 says that by keeping His teachings in your memory and his rules in your heart will give you increase of days, years of life and peace.
So what are the peace stealers in your life? Take some time and think about those things that seem to always irritate you, cause you to lose sleep at night or hinder you from being the best witness you could be. Why not pray the following prayer and begin your journey towards a peaceful life? I guarantee that your life will begin to change with the help of the Holy Spirit!
Father God,
I desire to walk in the peace that Jesus died on the cross for me to have. I bind myself to that peace and to a sensitivity to when I am not operating in it. Help me to identify those peace stealers in my life and give me the strength, courage and commitment to deal with them with the power You have given me. I turn over all my fears, concerns, my schedule and my life over to You. I purpose to pursue peace in every area in my life so that I can live in the fullness of life You have given me, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
3 responses so far
My kids fighting. Ugh. It’s been a rough couple of weeks and I give away my peace far too easily! Praying God gives me a breakthrough SOON! I did a study on peace a few years ago. Learning that peace is actually a weapon really opened my eyes to how critical it is that we hold on to it. Thanks for your post! Blessings & PEACE!!!
Amy in OR
@Amy
Oops! That should’ve been on my list as well. On the flip side, I try to see it as one of those “teachable moments” on how to deal with conflict resolution. Just one of the advanced subjects the children receive when they are homeschooled.
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