The Key To Unlock Peace
What is the one thing that you think could solve the majority of your problems? I remember talking to a friend who was having difficulty with his business and trying to get new customers and he was very stressed out. I remember asking him, “If I gave you a million dollars right now, would that solve the majority of your problems?”. He sat back and thought about it for a few seconds and said, “Yes, yes it would.” Then I said, “then your problems are pretty small.”
If we stop and think about our own individual situations, we are truly blessed. Just living in this country we are blessed. Half of the world’s population is living on two dollars a day or less and we are complaining about how bad we have it in the United States. We spend a lot of time thinking about what we don’t have rather than what we have. Therefore, we wallow in want and envy. That is a problem.
As an example, do you know what we have in this country that you don’t see in other countries? Storage businesses. Look around on your way to work and count how many businesses there are to store our excess “things”. We complain that we don’t have enough whatever. Money, time, clothes, cars, luxuries, vacations. Name it. If we stop and think about it, we are a nation of whiners.
We are also very anxious. Very nervous. Very worried. Hey, I am part of it too. I worry about my business. I worry about paying the bills. Paying for college. Paying taxes. All of it. I’m in the same boat as everyone else. Where do we find peace? Well one place we can start is our own thoughts. This blog gives some great suggestions. https://bravethewave.org/2020/03/12/control-your-thoughts-control-your-anxiety/
Our Best Days
One of the things we can do to help is as we are going through struggles is to remember that we are believers. We have faith and we are looking forward to the promises of Jesus. We tend to get bogged down in the day to day struggles of survival and we can’t fully believe that we have an eternity of peace and joy and love to look forward to because of the grace of our salvation. Jesus said,
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
(John 14:2 NIV)
Look at how he ends that statement, ” if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” It is our choice. That is the essence of freewill. We can choose to live by believing in Jesus and holding onto his promises or we can ignore them.
I was listening to a book by Pastor Mark Driscoll, “Win Your War: Fighting in the Realm You Don’t See For Freedom in The World You Do”, and he presented an idea that really caught my attention. As believers in Jesus, as we are pursuing our purpose, this life and the struggles, trials and pain we encounter will be the closest we get to hell. It won’t get any worse than this. Our best days are ahead of us because we look forward to an eternity in heaven. We relish the idea of spending time with Jesus in unimaginable joy, peace and love. This is an empowering idea. One key to peace is to always remember, OUR BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD OF US.
Sometimes tough times are actually opportunities. Golden opportunities. https://bravethewave.org/2020/03/20/on-the-front-lines-of-this-corona-battle/
For unbelievers, this life is the closest that they will get to heaven. Their best days are the ones they are living now. Everything going forward is just going to get worse than the life they experience on earth. This is a sobering idea.
It reminds me of an interview I saw with atheist director Woody Allen. Waking up terrified every day, he lives in a constant state of fear because he believes that life has no meaning. He believes that the concept of heaven and hell is just “nonsense”. Life is like a train ride and we all end up at the “same station”. Once this life is over, there is nothing else. He lives in constant fear and he deals with it by making one movie per year. This view of the world brings terror and misery.
When we can live in light of eternity and understand that our best days are ahead of us, we can be grateful. Gratitude brings peace. It also bring love and joy.
The Power of Gratitude
There is only one way to get to peace and that is through the Prince of Peace. There is no other way. He is behind the door but the door is locked. The key is gratitude. When you use the key of being thankful for everything you have, it unlocks the door to his presence, His power and His peace. We should start by being grateful for Jesus. Grateful for our salvation. Then we can be grateful for the gifts of our family and friends. They are a gift from God to teach us how to love. If we aren’t dealing with chronic illnesses we can be grateful for our health. We really take that for granted.
I myself just went through an episode of chronic back pain that lasted for months. Unrelenting pain. That was a real eye opener and I pray for any of you going through chronic pain. That is tough. If you are pain free and free from any physical ailments or disease at this time, I would get on your knees and thank the Good Lord. Don’t take your health for granted.
The Prince of Peace
There are two places on this planet that I know when I go there, I feel blessed. I need to expand the number of places where I feel blessed. We all should expand and grow the number of places we can go to and just sit and be grateful. Sit and be with Jesus. Sit and thank Him and love Him. Thank him for our families and our health and that we have abundance in this life.
Unlock the door. Remember that our best days are ahead of us. Be grateful. Then bask in HIS PEACE.
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https://www.realmenconnect.com/podcast/episode/c5a4abaf/422-how-to-discover-your-authentic-self
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