Find Peace In This Troubled World

Do you live in peace? For many, the answer is no. They live in areas troubled by war, violence,or terrorism. Even if you are spared such disasters, you might find your peace disturbed by crime, harassment, and arguments with business associates or neighbors. Families also are like war zones and without calmness.

Many people long for inner peace. The may look for it in religion, meditation, or yoga groups. Some people like to find it in nature taking a vacation, hiking in the mountains and wilderness places, or visiting natural spas. But many of them find that such peace is short lived.

So where can you find real peace? The bible tells us our source of peace is God. (Romans 15:33) It tells us he gives it to us. Under the rule of his Kingdom, he says we will have an abundance of it! (Psalms 72:7) We will not have war anymore, and strife. (Psalms 46:8-9) As beautiful as this hope is, you might really long for peaceful conditions now. Is there a way that we can find it through our troubled times? The Bible shows us the way.

In Philippians chapter 4 verse 7, it tells us that the peace of God surpasses all thought, and guards our mental powers. We might not be able to see a way out of our problems, but God's peace can fill us with hope that one day all our troubles will be gone! Hard to believe? The bible says all things are possible with God. (Mark 10:27) If we have faith and trust in him, we can control our worries. Think about a child lost in a huge store. He knows for sure that all he has to do is find mommy and everything will be fine. We can trust God if we feel lost, that he will take us in his arms, so to speak. He will soothe us, and chase away all our anxieties.

A woman by the name of Nadine, who lost her unborn baby, said she finds it hard to talk about her feelings, and she tries to keep a stiff upper lip. But inside, she is broken hearted. She pours out her heart everyday to God in prayer, and begs him for help. She says she has felt the power of prayer when she was at her worst thought that she didn't want to go on any longer. She said she experienced inner serenity and peace.

Philippians 4 verse 7, talks about peace guarding our hearts and mental powers. Just as a man guards his post, the peace of God can guard our heart so that anxieties and ungodly values do not enter. Many people in this world of trouble, believe that in order for one to be happy and secure, they need financial wealth. Some may even invest some of their savings in stocks. Do they then really feel at peace? Not really. They may get excited and check the share prices everyday, wondering whether to sell, buy or hold. Then the stock market takes a downturn, and they panic.

At the end of verse 7, it tells us the peace we receive is by means of Jesus. What connection is there between Christ and the peace of God? Jesus plays the key part in the accomplishment of God's purpose. He gave his life so that we may be delivered from sin and death.(John 3:16) He is also the crowned King of God's Kingdom. Knowing the role that Jesus has, can add to our peace of mind. If we repent of our sins and ask for forgiveness, God will pardon our errors, and we will find an inner calmness within ourselves.

We find at Philippians 4: 4-5, to always "Rejoice in God" The apostle Paul wrote these words when he was put in prison in Rome. Instead of worrying about his unfair treatment, he encouraged his fellow believers to praise the Lord. He experienced joy even though he suffered many trials because of his close relationship with God. We too, can be happy even though we have anxiety, serving our Creator. We need to come to know him through his Word, and develop an intimate closeness with him no matter what we experience. The better that we know him and do his will, it can bring us deep satisfaction.

In addition, we want to try to be reasonable. If we do that, we will not expect too much of ourselves. We are not perfect and cannot be the best in everything. So why lose sleep wondering how we can be flawless, or better than everyone else. We shouldn't expect other people to be perfect either. Then we can keep calm when they rub us the wrong way. If we are yielding or reasonable in matters of personal preference, we avoid quarrels and can have peace of mind.

Now let's take a look at verses 6 and 7. The peace of God is a direct consequence of prayer. Some people view praying to God as a form of meditation, but the bible speaks of genuine communication with God, as close as a child shares his happiness and problems with his parent. Whatever is on our mind that is troubling us, we can confide in our Heavenly Father.

Verse 8 tells us to focus on positive thought. As verse 9 explains, we also have to put the good advice of the bible to practice. Doing this will give us a good conscience.

Yes, we can find inner peace, it comes from God himself! He gives it to those who draw close to him and want to follow his guidance. By examining his Word, you can come to know his thoughts. Applying his direction is not always easy, but it is worth every effort because the God of peace will be with you.

If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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