As I’ve mentioned before, peace is a choice. Being peaceful is not something that just happens to you, just as losing your peace is not something that just happens over which you have no control. You cannot control every circumstance or incident that threatens to take your peace, but you can control yourself. If you have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit lives in you and self control is a fruit of that Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Thus you have self control regardless of whether or not you have chosen to operate in it and to let it be developed in you.
One of my favorite scripture verses is Joshua 24:15 where Joshua tells the Israelites, “choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” I would say to you (and to myself) “Choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the voices in your head, the outside stresses and your frustrating circumstances, or the power of the Holy Spirit of the almighty God living on the inside of you.”
We have a choice, and if we want any chance at escaping each day with our joy, peace and sanity intact we must make that choice and stand firm on it, regardless of how we feel. Decide before you get in a situation how you will react should the situation arise. Don’t wait until the heat of the moment. This is great advice for dating, for emergencies, and for how to live your everyday life. For instance…Do you find yourself trying to correct your kids by acting just like them? This will set no example and will only escalate the situation. Decide right now…no screaming at your kids. Instead, opt for a whisper. Give it a try. Take a deep breath, get on their level and speak in a firm but calm and low tone. This has a great ability to break the “crazy cycle” and grab their attention.
There are plenty of other changes and choices we can make. The number one should be that the minute we feel this surge of emotions welling up in us and threatening to take our peace, just commit to step away for a minute, take a deep breath, cry out to the Lord and then leave your worries there. Let Him deal with them and go on in peace and joy knowing your troubles are in the more than capable hands of the Master and He is on the case. We are not called to fix all of our problems, we are simply called to trust in the one Who can and to hold our peace.
