I once read a sign that said, "A man is only as big as the things that annoy him!" So, what does it take to get your peace? How quickly do you lose your joy?
If you're going to experience the very best of God's will for your life, it is imperative that we as Christians maintain a high level of joy and peace in our lives—a contagious level.
You see, the world is looking for peace. Jesus said in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth…." You can't find peace in the world. You simply cannot. The Lord said the world doesn't provide it. And yet, this is the very thing the world needs.
The unsaved should see in us something that excites them. This peace we're talking about is tangible. We should walk in it. We should minister it. Through our countenance and through our words we should communicate peace and joy to the lost. But, you can't minister what you don't have.
It should be evident that if you're having trouble maintaining peace and joy in your own life, you will not be able to minister these things to others. As 1 John 2:6 says, "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."
at said, "A man is only as big as the things that annoy him!" So, what does it take to get your peace? How quickly do you lose your joy?
If you're going to experience the very best of God's will for your life, it is imperative that we as Christians maintain a high level of joy and peace in our lives—a contagious level.
You see, the world is looking for peace. Jesus said in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth…." You can't find peace in the world. You simply cannot. The Lord said the world doesn't provide it. And yet, this is the very thing the world needs.
The unsaved should see in us something that excites them. This peace we're talking about is tangible. We should walk in it. We should minister it. Through our countenance and through our words we should communicate peace and joy to the lost. But, you can't minister what you don't have.
It should be evident that if you're having trouble maintaining peace and joy in your own life, you will not be able to minister these things to others. As 1 John 2:6 says, "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."
We're supposed to walk as Jesus did. He left us His personal peace to walk in. He said, I'm leaving, but My peace I've given to you. Be at peace and have joy. When trials come and you feel your peace and joy ebbing, you need to meditate on this truth. You need to stand up and say, "Jesus has given me His peace!"
Do You Have A Troubled Heart?
The first step in walking in victory in this area is taking responsibility for the condition of your heart. Remember what Jesus said? "Let not your heart be troubled" (John 14:1). The understood subject in this verse is you. He's saying, "Don't you let your heart be troubled."
If your heart's in a troubled state, who let it get that way? You did.
We need to monitor the condition of our hearts. As you travel down life's highway in your faith mobile, there are two gauges you ought to keep a close eye on: Your peace gauge and your joy gauge. When they read "full," your heart's in good condition.
What causes these gauges to go down? What drains our faith mobile of its joy and peace? I'm going to give you seven reasons why people lose their peace. These are the seven enemies of your supernatural peace and joy.
Seven Ways People Lose Peace
First of all, if you want God's peace in your life, you must control your tongue. Many children of God have prayed for favor, and God immediately began working in answer to their request. But then they ran off at the mouth, speaking words of unbelief, and stopped what the Lord was doing on their behalf.
The words we speak have power. We have what we say. Joshua understood the power of the spoken word when he wrote, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth" (Joshua 1:8).
Another way we short-circuit our peace is through anxiety and fear. Fear is an open door for the enemy to work. You see, faith is the opposite of fear. Faith will stand firm in the midst of a storm. You may feel tempted to be afraid, but you can tap in to what's in your heart. You can draw on that peace that passes understanding. When you do, your mind will become clear, your heart will become settled, and you will have peace.
One of the biggest enemies of peace is a thought life that is out of control; simply thinking the wrong things.
Romans 8:6 says, "To be carnally minded is death. But to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Our thoughts make a difference. You can and must control what you think about. You have to take responsibility for your own mind.
The Bible talks about casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ. We must bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).
The fourth enemy of joy and peace is failing to walk in love. People think walking in love is always having this wonderful feeling towards everybody. Nothing could be further from the truth. Walking in divine love is not just walking by feelings. Usually, it's just the opposite.
Some will say, "I've been sanctified. I don't have hard feelings toward anyone." Well, you have human flesh, don't you? And that flesh hasn't been born again. When people offend you, your flesh hurts. You're going to have feelings. You walk in love by monitoring those feelings and ruling over them. That's walking in the Spirit.
Another adversary of peace is disobedience. If you don't obey God, you will lose your peace. If God deals with you to do something, and you ignore that direction, you will not have peace. The prophets said there's no peace in God to the wicked, to those that go a different way (Isaiah 48:22; 57:21).
I've seen people run from the call of God on their life. If you do, you'll never have peace. You won't have it until you consecrate yourself to the will of God. And often, you'll not get answers to other things you're seeking God about until you submit to God's will.
The sixth reason people lose their peace is they are involved in too many activities. Their lives become too complicated.
You are not to be led by needs, nor are you to be led by opportunities. You are to be led by the Holy Spirit. Taking responsibility for things that don't pertain to you will drain you of your peace.
When you get involved in things God didn't tell you to do, you'll end up doing things you're not graced to do. At that point you are in your own strength, not the Lord's. You won't last long in your own strength and, eventually, you will become distressed and lose your peace.
There's a perfect example of this in the scriptural account of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38. There, we read how Martha was a good woman but yet she was "cumbered." One translation says, "She was busy with all her elaborate preparations." The New King James says, "She was distracted with much serving."
Understand, Martha was not a bad woman. She loved the Lord, and was trying to serve Him. But she was so sure she was doing the right thing in making this big meal, and there was Mary just sitting there. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She went to Jesus and said, "Lord do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
When you're frustrated and don't have peace, it's your fault. You let yourself get that way. But many times, you want to blame it on somebody else. Martha was trying to serve the Lord, but was she at peace? We are called to be laborers together with Him. We don't decide what to do, or what opportunity we pursue. We must be led.
Finally, one thing that will jerk the joy and peace out of you in no time is getting into an argument or a fight.
Philippians 2:14 says, "do everything without complaining or arguing" (NIV). Everything we do should be without arguing or complaining. Everything.
You can be prayed up, built up, and read up, but get into an argument with your spouse and watch the strength run out of you. It's like pulling the plug out of your peace tub. We should monitor our peace during our conversations. If our peace and joy begin to leave, we should stop right there. If you need to, back off and look at it another time.
We Have Strength With Peace
When we lose our peace, we become weak. We become vulnerable to the enemy. He's waiting for an opportunity to work in our lives. We can keep him waiting by being strong. We can hold the enemy at bay by monitoring our peace gauge.
So, here they are again:
- Control your tongue
- Rebuke fear and anxiety
- Rule over your thoughts
- Walk in love
- Be obedient
- Be led by the Holy Spirit concerning your activities
- Don't argue or complain
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Keith Moore is the founder and president of Moore Life Ministries and Faith Life Church of both Branson, Missouri and Sarasota, Florida. Two of the greatest emphases of Brother Moore's ministry are the importance of the written Word and the necessity of being led by the Spirit.
