After getting some experience with God, I finally began to realize that I needed to use my faith to calmly and peacefully go through the storms and trials of life.
Every born-again child of God should be enjoying a life full of peace. Jesus said in John 14:27 (AMP):
Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]
This is really a powerful Scripture. Please read it several times, and then take at least five minutes to meditate on it and let it soak in.
First, let us notice that the peace Jesus offers is a special peace, not like the world gives. What kind of peace does the world offer? The world offers a certain feeling of peace. This peace operates when everything in your life is going the way you want it to.
However, when things are not going your way, that worldly peace flees in a big hurry. The spirit of “upset” quickly takes over.
The peace Jesus gives operates in good times or bad, when you are abounding or being abased. His peace operates in the middle of the storm.
It would be wonderful, as far as the carnal mind is concerned, if everything went your way all the time. We know by experience that in real life this does not happen.
Something I Had To Learn
As a believer, I tried for years to use my faith to remove anything and everything I did not like or that did not feel good. This caused me tremendous frustration. Trying to make something happen that cannot and will not happen is always very frustrating.
After getting some experience with God, I finally began to realize that I needed to use my faith to calmly and peacefully go through the storms and trials of life. I needed to stop allowing the devil to steal my peace every time I turned around.
Jesus said in John 14:27 (AMP), “Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed.” The more I read this Scripture and pondered it, the more I realized the Bible was telling me that I was doing it to myself. I needed to stop it. He also said in that verse, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Jesus rebuked the disciples in Mark 4:40 for a lack of faith because they lost their peace in the storm. Jesus did not lose His peace. He was asleep in the back of the boat. The disciples were in a panic and very much upset.
What about you? Would you have been in the back of the boat enjoying peace with Jesus? If you do not have peace from the Holy Spirit, you are not enjoying life.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Joyce Meyer is one of the world's leading practical Bible teachers. A New York Times bestselling author, her books have helped millions of people find hope and restoration through Jesus Christ. Through Joyce Meyer Ministries, she teaches on a number of topics with a particular focus on the mind, mouth, moods and attitudes. Her candid communication style allows her to share openly and practically about her experiences so others can apply what she has learned to their lives.
Joyce hosts a TV and radio show, Enjoying Everyday Life, which broadcasts worldwide to a potential audience of 4.5 billion people. She has authored 100 books, which have been translated into more than 100 languages. More than 12 million of her books have been distributed free of charge around the world, and each year millions of copies are sold.
Joyce conducts close to a dozen domestic and international conferences every year, teaching people to enjoy their everyday lives. For 30 years, her annual women's conference has attracted more than 200,000 women from all over the world to St. Louis for specifically themed teachings by her and guest speakers.
Through her teachings, God has provided opportunities to meet the needs of the suffering and bring the Gospel in a practical way. Joyce's passion to help hurting people every day is foundational to the vision of Hand of Hope, the missions arm of Joyce Meyer Ministries. These outreaches around the globe include feeding programs, medical care, homes for orphans, and programs combatting human trafficking. In her hometown of St. Louis, Joyce and Dave, her husband, founded the St. Louis Dream Center (SLDC) in 2000. The SLDC serves the inner city through hands-on programs targeted at reaching the lost and hurting with the love of Christ.
Over the years, God has provided Joyce with many opportunities to share her testimony and the life-changing message of the Gospel. Having suffered sexual abuse throughout her childhood, as well as just dealing with the struggles of everyday life, Joyce discovered the freedom to live victoriously by applying God's Word to her life and in turn desires to help others do the same.
Joyce is and continues to be an incredible testimony of the dynamic, redeeming work of Jesus Christ.