Have you ever begged God to give you peace?
I have.
Especially when I walked through a time of anxiety attacks many years ago, I felt like I was stretching out to God so hard for peace and felt like it was eluding me. But why?
One day, in my prayer time, I asked God once again for peace for the thousandth time. It was as clear as day what He said back to me: “You already have it; it just needs to grow.”
I already had peace? But nothing in my life showed that. Nothing. I was a nervous, anxious wreck. How could God say that I already had peace?
… because Jesus already decided to give us peace and leave it with us.
Peace is not something we create; it was created by God, for us, and then gifted to us by Jesus.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27 ESV)
I also like the New Living Translation of this verse: “I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
Not only did He leave us with the gift of peace. It is His peace. He is the Prince of Peace, and you are an inheritor of His peace.
There is something comforting about knowing the peace that is flowing through your body first belonged to Jesus. In high school, a young woman would gladly wear her boyfriend’s letter jacket. It first belonged to him, and she felt proud to wear it. She may have even walked taller in it, with a sense of identity—maybe even authority.
So you have peace, but now it just needs to grow and develop.
4 Steps to Grow your Peace
- Thankfully receive the peace He gave you.
If you have received Jesus as your Lord, then you have been given peace. Recognize the gift, receive it with your heart, and thank Him for it. Say, “Thank you Jesus that when I received you, I also received your peace as a gift to me. Thank you. Please help that peace within me to grow stronger each day.”
- Realize that God is in control
and because He loves you, you can safely begin to let go of holding onto each problem. Pray about your problems, and then let them go into God’s hands. The sooner, the better. We are not the best problem solvers, and even if we think we are, God may know something years down the road that would benefit us that we cannot see right now.
- Take your thoughts captive,
and if you feel anxiety coming up, say, “I take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. I’m going to believe the word of God, and I know He loves me, and I can trust Him to take good care of me.”
- Speak the Word of God over your life.
Here are some verses to say out loud:
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
Your job is then to keep your mind on God and trust Him to care for you and your problem.
For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10)
You can say these in a prayer: Lord, I believe that you will keep me in perfect peace because my mind is stayed on you and I trust you God. The mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but I know that your steadfast love will not leave me, and your covenant of peace will not be removed from me. You are a God of compassion, and I will live freely in the peace you have given to me. Thank you Lord, for your peace that is alive and active in me.
As peace grows and is nurtured by your belief in God, keeping your mind on Him, and speaking scripture over your life, you will “see” a difference in yourself. You will not react in the same fearful way when problems come up.
God’s intention is for us to live with peace—actively walking in it, moving in it, and enjoying it.
When you own something, you can choose to set it down on the shelf or use it. Use the steps above to activate your peace today!
