Peace – In the world today chaos abounds. People are walking in confusion, and suicide seems to be happening in epidemic proportions. Even people that look happy on the outside are in such turmoil on the inside, and struggling with depression. They feel as if they are groping in the dark just looking for a ray of hope only to be suffocated by despair.
I used to go through each and everyday with fear and anxiety. I would wake up in the morning after a night of tossing and turning, dreading what that day would bring. I would cringe if someone knocked on the door and get sick just checking the mailbox. That feeling was a way of life for me. It began when I was just a small child, I thought it was normal. I had my first anxiety attack at the age of eight. My mom rushed me to the emergency room and she was told it was most likely a stomach flu. Doctors at that time didn’t even think about eight year-olds have anxiety and depression issues.
Later on in life I had started to experience the peace of God. That was something that was new to me, something strange. I had been in an environment my whole life that was chaotic and when I had been set free from all the chaos, I began to panic. I never knew anything but chaos. I had to unlearn the bad habits and ways of dealing with the stress that came into my life. I had to learn how to walk in peace, the peace that only God can give.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
How do you walk in perfect peace ? Only the peace that God can give. In this world, the peace that it offers is through external means. It is not true peace, and it will not last. Sure, your nerves can be calm with medication or alcohol, but it won’t last. When the drugs wear off and alcohol leaves you with a hangover or worse, a bad liver, there is the black hole of despair waiting for you. So how do you get the peace of God?
Psalm 16:11 “thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.”
Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)
and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
You have to believe. What you think on and believe is truly what happens in your life. Your mind is a powerful thing. I hate using the word thing. The mind is more than just a thing. It is a wonderful creation of God.
Rom 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Esv)
All Through The House With Love 