ARE YOU LIVING IN PEACE?

DAY NINE OF THIRTY ONE

Raise your hand if you’ve been offended, hurt, or attacked and wanted to immediately retaliate? I’m raising my hand here, too.

It’s hard to deal with this in person, and—let’s be honest—even social media can become a thorn in our sides because it’s easy to miscommunicate when you’re not face-to-face with someone. Things are taken out of context, you’re misunderstood, and now you have an argument on your hands.

Our immediate reaction is usually to go on the defense and prove why we’re right. However, that usually doesn’t work out too well for me. I’m guessing it doesn’t work too well for you either.

In life, God has made it clear that He’s my Defender and He takes that role seriously.

What has helped me in the past when I feel my blood boiling and “I know they did NOT” coming into my mind is taking time to pause and pray to allow God to work within the situation. I mentally or physically step back from the situation and ask God how to respond. This is not easy to do in the heat of the moment, but I promise you it gets easier over time. Let’s remember, the Scripture does say “if it is possible”. Even God knows there will be some people and situations you literally have to walk away from.

Prayer: If you’ve been holding onto bitterness because of someone who’s hurt you in the past, ask God to help you release the pain. Also, pray for Him to reveal to you anyone or anything in your life you need to let go of in order to have complete peace in your life.