Peace Thieves

What steals your peace? What prevents us from experiencing the joy and happiness that God intended us to have? Here are a few of my ideas. I'd love to hear yours.

-setting our hearts on the riches of the world
-comparing ourselves to others
-obsessing over problems, imperfections, or persecution
-spending more than we earn
-coveting more than we have
-contending about politics, religion, or any other subject
-turning away from God and His infinite love
-loving fame, wealth, prestige, or power more than we love God.

How do we stop their thieves from destroying our peace? We place God as the center of our lives. We love the Lord with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. We give our lives to Him and seek to live as He would have us live. We turn away from pride, greed, and vanity and turn toward love, kindness, and goodness. As we place our trust in God, He gives us power to resist the daily attacks of Satan, who wants to make us as miserable as he is.

God asked Gideon to take a few faithful men and defeat a mighty enemy. The Lord promised Gideon that He would be with Him and that Gideon would defeat the enemy as if he were one man. And Gideon did.

After the victory, Gideon built an altar to the Lord and called it Jehovah-Shalom, meaning God is my peace. May God be our peace today and always.

© Carol Brown