by Joyce Meyer
Just because we want to do something, or we feel like doing it or think it is a good idea, it may still be the wrong thing to do. We should slow down a little and take time to ask ourselves, “Do I have peace about the action I am about to take?” We must go deeper than our mind, will, and emotions and listen to Jesus, Who lives in our hearts and seeks to guide us through His Spirit at all times. Since He is the Prince of Peace, His approval of our intended action will always manifest in peace.
I love what Eleanor Roosevelt said: “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”
No statement could be any truer than this one. Peace won’t fall on us like rain falling on our heads. We must choose it, hang on to it, and stand fast against the devil while he continually tries to bring chaos into our lives.
The Author of Chaos
Since Jesus is the Prince of Peace, it is easy to conclude that all the turmoil and chaos, strife, war, and anger we see in the world are not from Him. Their author is Satan! He hates unity and peace, and he does all he can to infest the world with strife, hatred, unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, offense, and war. Anything that divides people is something the devil loves and toward which he works relentlessly.
Just think about how difficult it is for even two people to dwell in peace. Then multiply that by millions, and you can easily imagine how full of chaos our world is. Divorce is rampant, and in 2017, the United States ranked twelfth in the world (platinumparalegals.com). Among churchgoers, 38 percent have been divorced, so going to church doesn’t make us immune to the devil’s tactics (thegospelcoalition.org). As stated earlier, we must choose peace. Dave and I have been married for fifty-two years, and I can tell you that there were times when we had to choose to work things out instead of walking out.
When people divorce it is because they can’t get along peacefully. Although I agree that there are times when divorce is the only or perhaps even the best solution, it should be a rare occasion, not a commonplace event.
Take a Stand
If we choose to live in peace, we can’t have a casual attitude toward worry and anxiety. We must take a firm stand against it and pray that God will help us defeat and overcome it in our lives. Worry shows that our faith in God is not as strong as it should be, and it steals peace from multitudes of people. There are probably more people on the earth who worry than there are those who don’t. Worry is a destructive habit, and it can keep us from being productive at our jobs and from being fully present at home with our families.
Anxious thoughts plague our minds and cloud our reason, keeping us from seeing clearly. The more we fixate on a problem, the bigger it becomes. We may start worrying over a small matter, and before long we see it as a giant that torments us. People who struggle with ongoing worry and anxiety often experience sleepless nights, tossing and turning over the what-ifs running through their minds. Most of the things we worry about and fear never happen, and even if they did, their effect on us would not be as tormenting as all the worry we have endured.
Worry is a thief that robs us of peace and joy. The Bible says clearly that the devil is the thief who comes for one purpose only, which is to kill, steal, and destroy (see John 10:10). However, the good news is that Jesus came for the purpose of destroying the works of the wicked one (see 1 John 3:8). Satan was defeated when God raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him all authority in heaven and on the earth (see Matt. 28:18). Everything is under His feet, and because Jesus is “head over all things in the church,” we can overcome the enemy too (see Eph. 1:22). Jesus has given us the authority that God gave Him, and we need to learn to use it. God is for us, and that means we don’t have to worry.
Jesus gave us a clear mandate not to worry, stating that worrying cannot add one single hour to our life (see Matt. 6:27). In fact, worry diminishes our quality of life. One thing that helps me when I start worrying about something is to remind myself that it won’t do any good. Worry keeps me busy but accomplishes nothing. Sometimes I have to remind myself several times, but that is part of resisting the devil. He doesn’t give up easily, and we must not, either.
Worry rules over us unless and until we trust that God will fight our battles for us as we continue to worship and thank Him. Believing that He is good and trusting Him with the unknown is the quickest way to find peace. We simply cannot worry and trust at the same time. Worry is hard work. One day of worry is much harder than a day of work. I encourage you to put the energy you use worrying into prayer, and I promise that you will see much better results.
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.
Corrie ten Boom
Two Scriptures in particular have helped me greatly as I have endeavored to live at peace:
“He must search for peace [with God, with self, with others] and pursue it eagerly [actively—not merely desiring it].”
1 Peter 3:11
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
Psalm 34:14
Before I understood these two verses, I merely wished I had peace, and I prayed for peace. I passively waited for peace to come, thinking that if my circumstances would change, then I could have peace. No amount of waiting passively and being inactive will ever bring us peace. We must refuse to live without it and go after it with a determination that will ultimately defeat Satan.
Peace with God, with Self, and with Others
To me a large part of the answer concerning how we can have peace lies in 1 Peter 3:11. We pursue peace with God, with self, and with others, and I think it must occur in that exact order.
Peace with God is found in repentance and receiving forgiveness for sins. We find it through developing an intimate relationship with God and realizing that He cares deeply about every area of our lives and wants to be involved in everything we do. We discover it as we come to know how much God loves us and how precious we are to Him. Receiving God’s forgiveness and love allows us to learn how to forgive and love ourselves and how to be at peace with ourselves. Not one of us deserves God’s help, but we can receive it by faith as a gift from Him because He is good!
Learn how to be a friend and ally to yourself. God is for you and wants to help you, but if you are against yourself, you keep a door open for the devil to torment you. God will fight for us, but we cannot be against ourselves and receive much help from Him.
We all do many things that are wrong, and the devil is quick to remind us of them. But we also do many things that are right. Learn to recognize your gifts and the things you do well, and appreciate the abilities God has given you. Focusing on the negative aspects of our lives never helps us, but it does steal our peace. We should, of course, repent of our sin and of the wrong things we do, but once we have done so, we should receive God’s forgiveness and refuse to accept guilt and condemnation from the devil.
Once we have learned to love God and love ourselves, we can begin loving other people, and this is God’s ultimate goal. He wants us to spread His love everywhere we go.
Enjoying peace in relationships requires learning to be quick to forgive, difficult to offend, generous in mercy, and willing to bear with people’s failings and weaknesses (see Rom. 15:1). Treating others the way we want to be treated is indeed the “golden rule” (see Matt. 7:12), as it has been called. Living with that goal in mind will help us immensely to be at peace with people.
Accepting all people “as is” is the first step toward having peace with them. God does not ask us to love people as we would like them to be, but as they are. He accepts us that way, and over time His love changes us. The same principle applies to our relationships with people. Love comes first, and then comes change!
Peace of Mind
All loss of peace and upset begin in the mind. If we don’t learn to guard our thoughts and understand the power they have, Satan will rule us by placing wrong and destructive thoughts in our mind continually. Learning to th
ink about things that will benefit us should be our constant goal. We can choose our own thoughts, and we should do so carefully. Through Christ, we have the ability to cast down wrong thoughts and imaginations. Admittedly it requires effort, but we will never enjoy peace if it doesn’t begin in our thoughts.
When trouble comes we can think about all the terrible things that could happen, or we can choose to think that God is faithful and that He will fight our battles for us while we continue trusting Him and being a blessing to others. When we fail we can imagine that God is angry with us, or we can believe what God’s Word teaches us about His love, forgiveness, and mercy. Likewise, when people upset or disappoint us we can meditate on their offense, but the longer we do so the angrier we will become. Or we can choose to think about the value of the person and the good things we enjoy about them. We can also choose to believe the best rather than the worst. For example, some people are not even aware they’ve hurt us. They may be going through something painful themselves, and what they said or did was birthed out of their own pain. Maybe they need encouragement instead of isolation.
After over forty years of teaching God’s Word I am still continually amazed by the power our thoughts have over us. I often say, “Where the mind goes, the man follows.” If we think upsetting thoughts, we will be upset, but if we think on good things, we will enjoy a life of peace even as we deal with problems. Paul writes that in the midst of all of our troubles we may look like sheep being led to the slaughter, but we are more than conquerors through Christ Who loves us (see Rom. 8:36–37).
As frustrating as people can be, we need them and have to find a way to dwell together in unity, or we will give the devil a foothold in our lives. As Paul teaches, we should never let the sun go down on our anger.
Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], yet do not sin; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down. And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness].
Ephesians 4:26–27
Decide right now that you will never go to bed angry again, and you will be well on your way to enjoying a peaceful life. Don’t forget: The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace (see Exod. 14:14).
CHAPTER 9
What Is the Real Problem?
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places.
Ephesians 6:12
If we never learn what our real problem is, we will spend our lives fighting with things and people without solving anything. The devil loves it when we don’t know or remember that he is the source of all misery, hatred, strife, turmoil, and the battles we fight. If we don’t know that the devil exists and that he is our enemy, we live in great deception. He is against everything godly and good, and he is especially against God and His children (you and me).
There are, of course, real issues that must be dealt with, unpleasant circumstances and people who hurt and abuse us. But the source of all problems is Satan. In addition to bringing practical solutions to our problems, we need to resist and take authority over the devil because God has given us the responsibility and the right to do so.
We see this truth in Scripture when we read about the way Jesus dealt with Peter when he was trying to convince Him not to go to Jerusalem to suffer.
Beginning in Matthew 16:21, Jesus “began to show His disciples [clearly] that He must go to Jerusalem, and endure many things at the hands of the elders and the chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be killed, and be raised [from death to life] on the third day.” Peter’s response to Jesus’ announcement was improper, and Jesus rebuked him. But take a look at exactly what Jesus said to him.
Peter took Him aside [to speak to Him privately] and began to reprimand Him, saying, “May God forbid it! This will never happen to You.” But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”
Matthew 16:22–23
Jesus was not saying that Peter was Satan, but rather that Satan was working through Peter and attempting to divert Him from God’s purpose. Satan works through various means. He works through people, even good and well-meaning people, and he creates and works through circumstances of all kinds. Satan is behind all sin, all war, all strife, all disobedience, and everything that is not in agreement with God and His Word.
Another example we see in the Bible is in the story of a couple named Ananias and Sapphira, who sold a piece of property and said they would give the proceeds from the sale to the church. However, they kept back part of the funds for themselves, and this is what Peter said to them.
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and [secretly] keep back for yourself some of the proceeds [from the sale] of the land? As long as it remained [unsold], did it not remain your own [to do with as you pleased]? And after it was sold, was the money not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this act [of hypocrisy and deceit] in your heart? You have not [simply] lied to people, but to God.”
Acts 5:3–4
Satan was the one behind what Ananias and Sapphira did. He suggested to them that they keep part of what they had committed to give. The sin was theirs, but Satan instigated it. They evidently did not recognize his lie, nor did they consider the consequences of their actions. The same thing happens more often than we would care to admit, and it will continue happening until we recognize the true source of our problems and deal with it accordingly.
Another example we find in the Bible is when Judas betrayed Jesus.
Then Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve [disciples]. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him and hand Him over to them. They were delighted and agreed with him to give him money.
Luke 22:3–5
The Devil Made Me Do It!
Seeing that Satan is the source of all evil doesn’t mean we can brush aside our responsibility to recognize and resist him. We cannot just say, “The devil made me do it,” and be passive about taking action against him.
Since angels “do His commandments, obeying the voice of His word” (Ps. 103:20), one sure way to get their help is to say things that allow them to fight for you. “Satan, I resist you in Jesus’ name” is one thing we can say to let the devil know that we recognize he is at work, that we will resist him, and that we intend to trust God to help us in our fight.
Jesus spoke to Satan, who was working through Peter, and we can use His example as a pattern for us to follow. Always use the name of Jesus when rebuking Satan, for it is that name only that has the power to defeat him.
For this reason also [because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself], God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
Philippians 2:9–10
The name of Jesus is above every other name and carries tremendous power. Because of Jesus’ extreme obedience, God filled His name with great power. Not only did God give Jesus that powerful name, but Jesus has now given it to us to use in His place and represent Him. We have been given “power of attorney” to use the name of Jesus as if He were with us physically. I recently gave my son a power of attorney, which is a legal document allowing him to use my name in certain business matters that I would not be home to handle, so I understand how this works.
When Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave us His authority and power and His name to use in the same way He used it. Anytime we use the name of Jesus it represents all th
at He is. The name of Jesus is one of the most powerful gifts we have been given, and with it, we can hold back the forces of darkness. All prayer is to be offered in Jesus’ name.
“And I will do whatever you ask in My name [as My representative], this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified and celebrated in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name [as My representative], I will do it.”
John 14:13–14
The name of Jesus is the only name by which people can be saved (see Acts 4:11–12). We baptize them in the name of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
A woman once told me a story that shows the power that is in Jesus’ name. She was driving with her small child in the car with her in the passenger seat. She approached an intersection and realized that a car was headed straight for the passenger side of her car. She knew that without divine intervention, there was no way to avoid an accident. She only had time to say, “Jesus.” The oncoming car managed to stop just before it would have hit her car. As she spoke with the trembling man who had been driving the other vehicle and thanked him, he said, “You don’t understand. I never even had time to put my foot on the brakes. Whatever stopped the car, it wasn’t me!”
The battles we fight in life are not against flesh and blood. They are against Satan and his host of demonic forces, and it is our responsibility to recognize that and resist him. Authority is useless if it is not enforced, and we can reinforce the authority Jesus has given us by reminding the devil that we know he is already a defeated foe—a liar—and that although he has power, it is minor compared to the power of God that is on our side.
