We've all felt that way, from time to time. It IS possible that we live our lives FREE of frustration and aggravation. At least that's the way God wants us to live.
- John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
In fact, Jesus tells us to STOP allowing ourselves to be agitated, disturbed, fearful, intimidated, cowardly or unsettled.
WORLDLY PEACE
Worldly peace is found ONLY when everything is going our way. But the peace Jesus gives is a totally different quality of peace than what the world gives. It's a PEACE that passes our understanding; it makes us PEACEFUL when all natural reasoning says we should be upset.
PEACE IS A CHOICE
We can make the decision to stop allowing ourselves to get upset, aggravated and frustrated. Although we may think, "I can't help it," according to Jesus, we can help it. He offers us peace that can KEEP us from getting this way.
It's MY RESPONSIBILITY to not let my heart be troubled or afraid. We will never break loose from anything we're struggling with until we take personal responsibility for where we are now.
Most people just want to blame someone or something else for their problems - a bad childhood, their lack of education, their nationality, their personality - and make excuses for the way they are. But we can't let the things from our past, or present, become an excuse to stay there.
I've met people who grew up in a home full of turmoil. An environment that was unstable, unpleasant, filled with alcohol, anger and all kinds of abuse. However, they learned that they had to take responsibility for their actions if their life would ever be different than what they experienced throughout their childhood.
Living with FRUSTRATION, AGGRAVATION and WORRY really does you no good at all. All you'll ever get from being this way is a headache, a back ache, a grouchy attitude and regret for saying things you never should have said.
The moment we cry out to God and say, "HELP ME do something about this," things begin to change. It's not easy and it might not happen overnight, but as you trust God more and more to help you, make right choices to act like Christ instead of the way you feel like acting when you're upset or don't get your way...YOU WILL CHANGE. It's then that you learn to live with the PEACE Jesus gives.
GOD'S PEACE
We can have anything God says we can have. He is no respecter of persons. The promises of God are for "whoseover will" (see Acts 10:34-35). We're all "WHOSOEVERS," but not all of us are willing to do what we need to do to inherit the promises of God. We may be willing to hear the truth, but are we willing to DO what it says?
Today, I challenge you to decide to be DETERMINED and PERSISTENT in seeking God and being obedient to what He's telling you to do. Our enemy, the devil, is persistent and will do whatever he can to wear us out and keep us from God's will. But we need to have the same tenacity in Christ to never give up - by God's grace - and make him sorry he ever bothered us.
Remember, as a born-again Christian, you are full of the Spirit of the living God, who makes us more than conquerors. We should plan ahead to stay peaceful during trials. Everything is not going to go our way all the time, and when it doesn't, we can be prepared to STAY IN PEACE in the midst of it all.
Our confession should be "WITH GOD'S HELP, I don't have to be aggravated or frustrated. I can stay CALM and hold my PEACE."
The ability to display STABILITY and remain calm in troubled times can be one of our greatest testimonies to a troubled world.
