Our nation has rejected God’s Word and peace is not likely to continue. But that does not mean we, as Christians, cannot have peace, individually in our lives. What we study and make our priority, the more it determines who we become and what we do. The right input, brought into our minds, determines the quality of our output. God wants to bless and give us a supernatural power. However, He will not give those powers and blessings to those who are unable to spiritually handle His blessings. I have learned that the more time I have spent studying the Bible and praying, the more success and blessings I have received. What would be my chances of being blessed if I spent much of my time watching pornography? As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

God will not give us more than we can handle. Where are you spiritually? Is it possible you are not spiritually mature enough to handle a special blessing? Sometimes God has to prepare us for a specific blessing He is planning to give us. It is possible if God gave a blessing to some, it could cause them to stumble. This is why we must continually be growing in preparation for what God has for us.

The more spiritually I grew, the less concerned I had about increasing my material possessions. Yet, the more my material assets increased. My faith and trust in God’s promises continued to increase and a peace and security resulted.

I began expecting blessings that God said I could have and learned to distinguish God’s intervention into my life. They could be small things happening and occasionally a miracle. I called them: It’s A God Thing! When you see God blessing you in a number of ways, it changes your perspective on life and what life is all about. Fear can take away one’s peace but if you believe God is protecting you, there will be no fear. Christ repeatedly tells us not to worry or fear.

Luke 24:45 – 48 – “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’”

To obtain the peace the Bible describes comes from repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The renouncing of sin and a commitment to change how you have been living gives you the opportunity to become a new person headed in a different direction. There is a difference in believing about Jesus and believing in Him. We must accept Him as the Lord of our lives and surrender our self-centeredness. Christ and the Holy Spirit must be the ones who guide our lives. Once we learn to do this and accept that we are adopted into God’s family, a peace comes into our lives knowing that we will be given the correct guidance as God’s child.

I Corinthians 3:1 – 3 – “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?”

Many professing Christians find it difficult to accept this new life and do not want to live a holy life. They spend little time reading Scripture and only occasionally praying. The input that goes into their minds have little difference from what was going in during their past. As a result, there is little change in who they are and what they produce.

Romans 7:15 – 20 – “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.”

I personally had to learn how to handle problems? As a store manager, angry customers would call me every name because their freezer wouldn’t freeze, their washer wouldn’t wash or their battery died and their car would not run and it was my fault that we sold them defective merchandise. Scripture informed me that I was to calmly and peacefully handle each problem as I believed Christ would have handled it. We should not allow people to affect our day. When I handled the most severe complaints, I still felt at peace because I believed the Holy Spirit gave me the words to say and the guidance in handling the problem and satisfying the customer. I was not to make them my enemy but I was to show a loving spirit as a Christian for Christ.

Don’t you believe God wants to give you a peaceful life? Parents want their children to be happy and not suffer. God uses the same illustration to help us believe He wants what is best for us and would like to provide us with even more blessings.

I Peter 2:16 – 17 – “You are free from the law, but that doesn’t mean you are free to do wrong. Live as those who are free to do only God’s will at all times. Show respect for everyone. Love Christians everywhere. Fear God and honor the government.”

The greatest peace one can have, is knowing that your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It is knowing that if you live long enough you will be raptured. Peace is the assurance that you will be with God forever.