*Above All Else*
Most of our days are already planned without considering tomorrow is not promised. We even insert extra curricular activities to make them a little more exciting. In a world full of distractions, or a life full of failures our mood can easily alter. If not rooted in GOD's peace the least of life's debaucheries ticks us off. And before you know it we're being undiplomatic but not on purpose.
GOD has freely given us "HIS" HEART and MIND so WE would naturally exemplify "HIS" GRACE and be KEPT in PERFECT PEACE in tumultuous times. By embodying these attributes of GOD, there's NO LIMIT to serving people who WE deem undeserving. And boi did I have a hard time with this one cause the old me constantly got in the way when that part of me was clearly outdated. Today I challenge you to do a quick scan to see how many times can you include Jesus when someone strike your last nerve... jumped in front of you, or take their precious time while you were in hurry... Can you pray instead of fussing or would it be the other way around? Can you do it for the sake of your peace. You know... If we could really be honest with ourselves, our eyes will be more open to our own dysfunctionalities rather than others.
While writing to you, I kept hearing in my spirit, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace... Make me an instrument of your peace..." I had the sudden urge to search the Holy Scriptures. It was just my luck it wasn't there. You mean to tell me all these years I've been reciting that line and had no idea it was a prayer, a really beautiful and powerful prayer for transforming what determines our happiness. (Haha) Silly rabbit. Because I love you, I'm going to leave the prayer below for you to download, feel free to make it your own, just as I have. I know it will bless you.
****Peace... Where???***
Anywho... that goes to tell you I was no church girl. I believed in the Lord, hid Him in my heart, called His name when I needed Him, wasn't afraid to acknowledge Him even in my sin, memorized a few scriptures, but I didn't know the Bible and surely didn't know Jesus. I actually didn't get saved till 2021 but that phrase became my staple cause I knew no PEACE except when I was with Him. I needed Jesus bad. I was angry, hurt, and alone. I could only remember what that peace felt like in 2012 when He delivered me from 12years of suicidal depression... that is until I strayed away again.
But the point is... We need Jesus! And we all need His peace! It is not enough just to say His name and practice none of His teachings... It is not enough to go to church every Sunday and still act like devils and party animals with no self-control... It is not enough to say we know Him and our lives, conversations, attitudes, and friends looks nothing like Him. So I asked myself, "sis, where is He? Where is this Prince of Peace?" I realized I left Him at the door knocking and stuck in the pages bible on the night stand or in the app you never open?
Know Jesus by diving into the word... and know His peace by digesting it. And with prayer, practice, and discipline you'll start being a reflection of His peace. Peace is not when everything is going fine. It's when you're calm in the midst of storms. The Lord Jesus provides this and granted us power to also make the storms in our life obey. I don't know about you but for me the storm wasn't other people... the storm was me...
