How to Have Peace in Difficult Times: Staying calm no matter what's going on around you

By David L Johnston

Does It Feel Like Your World Is Spinning Out of Control?We live in turbulent times. Society sometimes seems like it is teetering on the brink of chaos. Too often we look towards our circumstances to bring us a sense of peace and calm. Unfortunately, you simply can't control your surroundings and the events that happen to you. All too often they are simply beyond your control.This powerful book will give you keys to experiencing peace and staying calm no matter what may be happening to you or around you.Pastor Johnston uses Scripture to show how God can bring you true and lasting peace. For example, discover•How your words can not only speak peace to others but to your own heart and mind•The secret to cultivating a lasting peace that cannot be shaken when bad things happen•The mystical connection between your heart and your mind•The authority you have to become a “peacemaker”•How to start making better and wiser decisionsBeating back anger, resentment, bitterness and strife

• Language: English
• Publisher: HigherLife Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781951492649

Book preview

Introduction

The cross is God’s great plus sign. Through its power, God continually adds good things to our hearts and minds. He is the best friend we will ever have. In the pages that follow, you will discover how the cross of Christ is the greatest source of peace for your heart. It has been said that if peace is not inside you, there is no use looking for it anywhere else. Peace must become part of our heart’s operating system. The heart runs the operating system and the mind runs the software, and it is vital that they work together. As a muscle, the heart keeps blood flowing throughout our bodies, while the brain is the central control system for the heart and other bodily functions. When our physical heart or brain lacks peace, our entire body can be negatively affected.

Peace is a realm that exists in your heart and your mind, one in which chaos is not allowed to enter. Chaos shows itself in a variety of forms: anger, depression, panic, worry, or mistrust. Peace, on the other hand, is the absence of these and any other negative feelings and emotions. So what’s the big deal?

When a person’s mind and heart are led by real peace, they can make wise decisions; but anger, anxiety, bitterness, or strife disrupts that peace. When that happens, that person’s thinking ability, powers of observation, and decision-making skills can all be corrupted. Since a person’s wisdom can be rendered null and void without real peace guiding the way, it is vital that God’s peace be the core condition of your soul. That’s how desperately we need it in its proper place.

In the chapters that follow, we will discover what genuine peace is, how it transforms our lives, and how we can maintain that peace—with God, ourselves, and others. Each chapter details important aspects of peace and supports its points with the Word of God.

In chapter one, we will discover God’s perspective on peace. God actually weeps over the absence of peace. The good news is that peace was accomplished for us by the work of Christ on the cross and in the empty tomb. That peace is maintained in us by the good works God enables us to do after we have been reconciled to Him, so that His peace affects every aspects of our lives—now and in the future. In fact, we are God’s ambassadors of peace to the world. Peace should encompass our entire lives. It is the hallmark of our relationship with God.

In chapters two and three, we will examine God’s path for living in genuine peace. God does not leave us in the dark about achieving peace in our lives. His Word perfectly explains how we can have peace with Him, peace with others, and internal peace within ourselves. We will also look at the differences between God’s genuine peace and the false peace the world offers, and understand why we must not be casual about peace in our lives, but actively pursue it because peace begets peace and leads us to triumph. We will also take a brief look at the important role that prayer and the Holy Spirit play in maintaining our peace.

In chapter four, we will focus on the power of God’s peace. One important way that God’s peace is different from the world’s peace is that it comes with real power. We will look at seven ways that peace gives us power when we are controlled by God’s Word and Spirit.

In the last chapter, we will discover how peaceful speech will bring joy into our hearts. All people seek true joy, but often are not sure how to find it. The secret lies in a peaceful heart that governs a peaceful tongue.

It is my hope that this book will help you know true peace. Since peace is central to our well-being and all our relationships, we can be thankful that God has shown us His path to peace. God has not left us wandering in the dark. We can know true peace through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter 1

The Greatest Symbol of Peace

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:7)

Philippians 4:7 is a key verse to which we will return often. According to the Bible, the source of all peace is Christ’s work on the cross and His resurrection from the grave. This core of the gospel provides us with what Paul calls the peace that passeth understanding. The word understanding in this context refers to comprehending the relationship between cause and effect: A causes B which causes C. According to Paul, this exchange between us and Jesus gives us a peace that is beyond our comprehension. We may not be able to grasp the cause-and-effect relationship between the cross and peace, but it is still true. Just because this peace is beyond our human understanding does not make it any less of a reality; instead, it fundamentally changes our hearts and minds.

1. God Weeps over the Lack of Peace

Before we discover how God achieved this peace for us, we must understand how important peace is to God. God is not a cold and impersonal Being. He cares deeply for His creation, especially people. In the Bible, God yearns for His people. He hurts when they hurt. He grieves over their fallen condition. He pours Himself out to rescue them. As every event in our history plays out, God is never a disinterested bystander. He’s in the thick of things all the time, and the absence of peace greatly troubles Him. He weeps over the lack of peace. Whenever people needed Him and cried out to Him, He met them in their trouble. That’s who He is.

When the Israelites were weeping over the destruction of their temple, this was God’s direction to them:

"Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our

Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

(Nehemiah 8:10)

He pointed His people to Himself as the Source of their joy. This remains the same today: The joy of the Lord gives us strength. The joy that the Lord has over our life strengthens us to follow His commands and stay in His peace—no matter what. He promises to strengthen us and bring sweet joy into each of our lives. In times of sorrow, we have access to God’s joy and can find our strength and peace in Him.

God is never a disinterested bystander.

Additionally, sometimes God Himself weeps over the state of the world. Luke provides a moving example of this from the life of Jesus. When Jesus first came to Jerusalem, He mourned over the city’s rejection of His message of peace for mankind.

"And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

Saying, if thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes."

(Luke 19:41-42)

Jesus wept over them because they were rejecting their Messiah and the peace He could bring them. Because of this rejection, peace would flee from the city of Jerusalem. Jesus knew what was in store for them because of their poor choices and was pierced to the point of weeping. He knew they did not know how to have peace.

God has those same feelings for you. He desires your peace and well-being. When you live without peace, He is deeply grieved. Since Jesus is the Prince of Peace, He is especially aware of how important it is for His people to share His peace, and what a terrible thing it is for any of them to live without it.

2. Peace Is the Message of the Cross

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

(Luke 2:13-14)

Peace was provided by Jesus on the cross of Calvary, but long before Calvary, peace was fundamental to Christ’s mission. The angels’ praises at Christ’s birth was focused on peace for all mankind. God became man and came to earth to bring peace—personal peace to each and every soul. The angels foretold this mission and praised God for it.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

(2 Corinthians 5:21)

Peace is still central to Christ’s mission today. It didn’t stop at the manger. Jesus Christ was made sin for us. Can you imagine that? God was made into the very thing which He hated most. When Jesus went to the cross, He took upon Himself the sin of all time, so that we might have God’s forgiveness. God has not only forgiven us, He has also given us peace through the blood of His cross.

Jesus’ sacrifice brought peace to mankind and the entire created order.

"And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."

(Colossians 1:20)

Think about it. Peace came through the blood of His cross. He came so you could have peace, and He died so you