Don’t lose your peace

Satan knows that God’s Word can only be received by a heart and mind that are at peace, so he will do everything he can to keep you upset. He loves it when you get into an argument just before church and spend the entire service feeling bad. That’s why you must do whatever it takes to keep your peace. There is power in peace! If the devil can’t get you upset, he has no power over you. He only “gains” control when you “lose it.” He keeps you upset in order to steal your peace, confuse you, and make you run in circles. Don’t let him do it! Next time you get worked up about some issue, stop and ask yourself, “What’s the enemy trying to do here? If I give in to these emotions, what will the result be?” When you’re stressed out, you lose your joy. And when you lose your joy, you lose your strength, because “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). So it’s essential that you exercise self-control and try to keep your peace. James wrote, “The wisdom that is from above is…peaceable” (James 3:17 NKJV). In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases this scripture: “Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings…You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other” (vv. 17-18 MSG). Now getting along with others can be hard work, but it’s worth it to have peace.