A vital piece to enjoying life is to live in and under God’s peace. So each day let’s take small steps towards peace to encourage and not lose hope while drawing closer to God and His love and His power, which produces a peace that goes beyond all understanding.
Tips from today’s devotional reading:
1. Be selective with how you spend your time. You may be trying to do too many things and end up doing none of them well. Hurrying is the flesh trying to do more than the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. Be led by the Spirit.
2. Be prepared to say "no" nicely. Sometimes we take on things we shouldn’t because we’re uncomfortable saying no. Ask God to give you the words to say no when you need to.
3. Resist the spirit of procrastination. God’s Word tells us to exercise self-discipline. Do what you know you need to do now so you can fully enjoy your times of rest.
4. Eliminate key distractions. If you know you are prone to certain distractions, such as watching TV, set some guidelines for yourself.
5. Set appropriate boundaries for interruptions. Life is full of interruptions, but you can learn to set boundaries that help you manage them in healthy ways, such as scheduling times when you are "off limits." Schedule time to give yourself a break.
6. Modify your life. Ask God to show you out-of-the-box ways to save time and trouble. For instance, when I don’t have time to do the dishes, I use paper plates!
7. Pray and listen. If you can see that your plan is not producing peace, go back to God, pray for peace in the now, and for the wisdom to make changes that will benefit your life.
Making peace a priority is key. I remember when I had gotten so stressed out back in International Mobile days that my diabetes went out of control. I remember the wakeup call when I went to see my diabetic doctor and I was sent to a dietician who helped me learn how to count carbs. It made me have to stop and reconsider what I was doing in my life and reconsider my priorities. Where was I spending my time? What was I saying were my priorities, but where was I spending my time? What was I saying were my priorities, but how was I acting them out? Coming to that point of reflection and stopping to ask God for help and to hear and obey were key for the transformation that took place in my life.
This devotional brings up a good point – making peace a priority and even produces or provides some key tips and ideas on how to make it a reality. Now we just need to take steps daily towards God’s peace with God’s leading and we will find ourselves in a place of His perfect peace that goes beyond our own understanding.
(notes from today’s devotional)
7 Ways to Practice Peace
7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
Prayer Starter (from today’s devotional)
God, lead me into Your peace that passes all understanding. Show me the daily steps I can take to walk in Your peace for me.
Heavenly Father,
I thank You Lord for this new day and for all that will be in it. I thank You Lord for my family and for the incredible blessing and love that fills my house thanks to them. I thank You Lord for this day to celebrate Your promise of a son with today being His 5th birthday. Bless this day Lord and may You receive all the praise, the honor, and the glory in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Lord as I reflect on this morning’s devotional, I pray Lord for Your wisdom to help me daily walk forward to get into that place of walking within Your peace that goes beyond understanding. Help me Lord to be more selective in how I spend my time and to spend my time on where Your Spirit leads me. Help me Lord to be able to say no nicely so that I am only doing and taking on what is part of Your purpose and plan. Help me Lord to resist procrastination and to do what needs to be done so that the burden and stress and pressure and anxiety that comes will be removed from my life. Help me Lord to eliminate key distractions so that I may remain focused on Your purpose and plans. Help me Lord to set boundaries in order to limit or eliminate interruptions. Help me Lord to schedule work and life as well as time for rest and refreshing. Help me Lord with my priorities so that I put my life in alignment with Your plans and purpose and do things in the most effective and efficient way. And Lord most of all, I pray that You will help me to listen and obey the wisdom that you provide me to help me change and walk in the peace that goes beyond all understanding in Jesus’ name that You may receive all the praise, the honor, and the glory. Amen.
Verse of the Day
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32
Fearful to Fearless
5 Why should I fear when trouble comes,
when enemies surround me?6 They trust in their wealth
and boast of great riches.
Psalm 49:5-6
There is no reason to be afraid of people, even those with affluence and wealth, they have no power. When judgment comes, those who put their hope in the wealth of the world will be afraid, but those who trust in the Lord will be safe.
Chronological
Today – Day 214
- 2 Kings 20
- Will you give your cares up to God?
- What would it take for you to believe what God has promised you?
- Don’t be so over confident in what you do and what you say.
- You may not understand or know the heart or purpose of those you encounter.
- Do you only care about what will happen in your lifetime or will you consider the choices you make and the impact it will or may have on the generations to come.
- 2 Kings 21
- What type of inheritance are you passing on to your children?
- What types of priorities and wisdom are you planting in their lives?
- What types of choices will they be prepared to make?
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