In the midst of turmoil, tension and stress, you need to be able to access the peace of God at any moment. But how do we do this? From first hand experience, I know what it’s like to struggle with living in any peace at all.
I know what’s like to be a Christian and not sense peace. I know it shouldn’t be that way, but masses of other believers have the same struggle.
So in my journey of learning to live in peace, while in the midst of personal storms, I needed some practical steps to develop my “peace muscles.”
In this video, I talk about the struggle to walk in the peace of God and some very simple steps I took to increase my ability to walk in that peace. And here are some simple steps I took to regain my peace after a life of non-stop anxiety, panic, OCD and constant restlessness.
One of the greatest gifts we can live in is the power of divine peace. The peace of God is not an externally based peace, on circumstances alone, but on the indwelling peace of God that can guard our hearts and mind through any circumstance.
But it seems that today, people are struggling with taking, holding and keeping their peace.
Our stress lives, fear based struggles and pressure cooker schedules are robbing us of the peace that is possible in God.
My Personal Journey
In my journey of overcoming anxiety, panic attacks and OCD, I found peace to always be elusive–meaning it seemed just out of reach. My day was spent living outside the power of peace. I was really discouraged, because the peace I heard other people talk about did not exist in my life.
But then I was reminded that in Exodus 14:14, it says the “LORD shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
This showed me that God is at work, but I need to do my part in actually guarding and HOLDING my peace.
But this takes practice. It doesn’t happen overnight . . .
Jesus said in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.”
I Need to Take His Peace
I realized that peace is available to me, but I need to make an active decision to take it.
- Then when I take it, I need to hold it.
- When I hold onto it, I am guarding over it and keep intruders from stealing.
I had to learn to keep that peace and let it grow in my life.
Practicing Your Peace
But this did not happen overnight . . . I had to learn to “Practice My Peace.” And I did this in a very practical way.
I could have allowed myself to get discouraged and quit, but I allowed myself to build my peace keeping muscles day by day.
You see, I could only take and hold my peace for about 5-10 seconds. Seriously, I actually timed it. That’s pretty discouraging. But just like going to the gym, the first times you exercise can be a little difficult. But over time it gets better if you stick with it.
So about 3-5 times a day, I would stop and practice taking, keeping and holding my peace.
Growing Step by Step
I would put my hand over my heart. Take a deep breath and thank God for His peace. I would connect to it from my heart, the best I knew how.
And each time, I would attempt to stretch the boundaries of how long I could hold His peace.
So what started as 5-10 seconds, turned into minutes. Five minutes turned to ten minutes, ten minutes turn into 20, then 30 minutes. Next thing you know, I could hold my peace for a whole hour.
And I will never forget the day where I was able to hold my peace for an entire day!
For a guy who could not escape torment for 5 seconds, this is a miracle.
And it’s a miracle you can experience too. You just need to apply the power of process: daily practicing and giving yourself grace to increase your capacity one step at a time.
It’s how I learned to live in the peace of God.
You can do it too. Just take it keep it and hold it. Practice it over and over again and watch God do amazing things!
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