Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14:27

It is obvious from even a casual reading of the Scriptures, that our Creator desires for us to have peace.  We will have trouble, challenges, frustrations – whatever title you want to give the hard times of life, but they are not to rob us of our inner contentment and satisfaction.  They are to aid us in growing it even stronger!

Here are Five Steps To Grow Peace:

1.)  Open yourself to what is around you! We try to avoid. And in the process of trying to avoid, we miss a lot of stuff that is actually there to help us.  If you are facing a challenge today, don’t run away from it – run into it and get whatever it is that you are supposed to get from it.  Life will not always be easy, but some of the greatest lessons that you will ever learn are not learned in the easy times of life, but in the difficult challenges that you take the time to face and allow the Spirit to help you to overcome!  You are not supposed to do life by yourself!

2.)  Get rid of all resentment! We carry baggage that weighs us down and a lot of what we carry, we do not have to.  Right now you have resentments in your life.  There are people who you resent and actions that you resent.  You may not think about it, but they are there.  This unforgiveness is getting in the way of the growth that God created you to experience.  You are the only one that can do anything about this.  Make the choice to forgive and let go and enjoy the freedom of the extra room that it will create in your life for the other good stuff that the Creator has for you!  You have been forgiven, so that you can forgive!

3.)  Take time to think it through! We tend to live our lives in a rush and in the process of our rushing from one thing to the next, we miss a lot of the very special gifts that have been left along the path of life for us to enjoy.  Stop and think about what you are doing and why.  Before you get up from this reading – stop and think about how what you are reading can change your life, now what are you going to do about that?  You were created for relationship – don’t miss it!

4.)  Change your mind! It is surprising the arguments that we have with ourselves that we never finish.  If you are going to argue with yourself, then make sure that you take time to argue through to the end.  There is no real point in arguing, if it is not going to end in the resolvement of something.  Argue with yourself and choose the side that will help you become the different and better person!  Grace is a gift that cannot be earned or deserved!

5.)  See the ideal you! We tend to forget that we were created!  That’s right – you are not an accident.  You were created on purpose and for a purpose!  Learn to see yourself in the light of your God-given purpose and it will aid you in your decision-making and help you to experience the fulfillment that you were created for!  Peace begins in relationship with our Creator and continues in the cultivation and growth of that relationship!

Think through these steps and take the time to take these steps and you will experience peace that flows from the inside-out!