Do you struggle to find peace? Are there days when you wish you could grab just a tiny piece of peace to cultivate calmness and relieve stress?
We live in a society that promotes contentiousness rather than peace, so grasping and holding onto peace are challenging.
Following are some suggestions to promote personal peace:
Squelch Worry
In these days, it’s hard not to worry. COVID, monkey pox, polio, political wrangling, protests, and war cloud our minds, producing fear and dread. If we allow it, worry can overwhelm and negate peace. Worry also hinders forward motion.
The word “squelch” means to silence, suppress, or to stamp on as to crush. Silencing worry is a battle that sometimes requires drastic measures to overcome.
Shut Down What-if Scenarios
Do you play mind games, creating what-if possibilities that frighten you and rob you of peace? Often, our minds gravitate toward worst-case scenarios and linger there until the what-if feels like a certainty.
However, you have the mental capability and the spiritual help to shut down the imagined scenes you generate. Speak aloud, “I will not entertain this possibility anymore.” Then pray, asking God to help you end the what-ifs and trust him for what lies ahead.
Avoid Arguments
We live in a time when people think nothing of vehemently expressing their opinions and arguing passionately with those who do not agree with them. But arguing is a no-win endeavor that keeps your mind spinning with comebacks and renders you devoid of peace.
We all have opinions, and subjects we champion, but we can hold to those opinions without being drawn into in-person or social media harangues.
Know what you believe, but remember, not everyone has to agree with you.
Find Your Place of Peace
Spending time in nature brings me peace. Your place of peace may be different. Peace for you may involve a person or a group of people. Take time to assess where you experience peace, or with whom, and utilize it.
Experience Peace Beyond Understanding
Most of us have experienced a life event that causes peace to seem out of reach, but God provides peace when life doesn’t make sense. In fact, spiritual peace becomes most evident when hardship is the most intense. You may not be able to reach peace in your own strength, but with God’s help you can experience peace beyond human understanding.
“Search for peace, and work to maintain it” (1 Peter 3:11b NLT).
“Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid” (John 14:27 GNT).
©CandyArrington
Candy Arrington is a writer, blogger, speaker, and freelance editor. She often writes on tough topics with a focus on moving through, and beyond, difficult life circumstances. Candy has written hundreds of articles, stories, and devotionals published by numerous outlets including: Inspiration.org, Arisedaily.com, CBN.com, Healthgrades.com, Care.com, Focus on the Family, NextAvenue.org, CountryLiving.com, and Writer’s Digest. Candy’s books include Life on Pause: Learning to Wait Well (Bold Vision Books), When Your Aging Parent Needs Care (Harvest House), and AFTERSHOCK: Help, Hope, and Healing in the Wake of Suicide (B&H Publishing Group).
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