Thoughts, circumstances, and challenges can destroy our peace if we allow them to do so. Peace is a precious gift from God and needs careful nurturing. Consider the things that steal our peace:
• Comparing our appearance, personality, talents, accomplishments, or possessions with others
• Focusing on the faults of others
• Ignoring our own strengths
• Harboring thoughts of self-pity, shame, bitterness, or negativity
• Ingratitude
• Feeling that no one loves us or cares about us
• Believing that we are worthless, useless, unable to change, a product of our environment, or damaged
• Assuming that God does not know us, value us, love us, or cherish us
So, how to do eliminate the peace-stealers from our lives so that we can be peace-givers? We begin by centering our hearts and minds on our loving Father. As we study His words and become acquainted with Him through prayer and meditation, we discover that He loves us more than we can imagine and that He wants us to live in a spirit of peace, even when times are difficult.
Next, we allow God’s love to permeate the broken parts of our hearts. We give Him our guilt, shame, pain, bitterness, and burdens and allow Him to heal us. We ask for His forgiveness when we make mistakes. He ask for His help when we feel weak or overwhelmed. We seek to better understand His infinite love when we feel alone or afraid.
Finally, we remember to live with a spirit of gratitude and contentment. We focus of the blessings we enjoy and trust that God is carrying us each moment of our lives. As we savor the bounties of His love, we share that love with others—through our smiles, service, prayers, and loving thoughts.
Remember , Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Today, choose to enjoy the peace of God’s abundant love for you.
© Carol Brown
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for commenting. I learn so much from the things you write.