Peace In Her Soul

Dear Precious Friends,

It's wonderful Wednesday and I pray you have woken up with gratitude for this new day and joy knowing the reason God woke each of us up is because He has a purpose for us and work for us to do!! This is a good reminder today! Had to share!!!

Preaching to myself today! We must Protect your joy and your peace!

As Christians it’s important to protect our peace and our joy. The enemy knows if he can steal our peace and our joy, he can render us useless.

Peace and joy are parts of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians.

Joy is choosing to delight in God despite circumstances.

Peace is having calm amid the storm. Peace comes as a result of resting in God’s promises.

The lack of peace leads to worry, doubt, fear, and anxiety, causing us to also lose our joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Without peace and joy, the enemy will try to oppress us.

But not today satan! Because I am a child of the most high God and I have the Armor of God and the promises of God. I know my authority in Jesus Christ, we have the victory in Jesus.

If we are living a sold out life for Jesus, we will face opposition from the enemy. Count it all joy.

James 1:2-4

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

-God works all things for good! He is using our trials to refine us.

How to keep your peace and your joy:

•Cut off or limit time with toxic people. Having boundaries is so important.

Proverbs 4:20-23

20 My son, pay attention to what I say;

turn your ear to my words.

21 Do not let them out of your sight,

keep them within your heart;

22 for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.

23 Above all else, guard your heart,

for everything you do flows from it.

We want to stay away from people, places, and things that would distract us from our Christian walk. Or from those that would try to despitefully use us. You matter. Your time and attention is valuable. Even in ministry, it’s important to have boundaries. We are meant to give in ministry from a place of overflow. It is not selfish to make sure that we are spending time with the Lord, we cannot compromise on this, or we will find ourselves burnt out. Point people to Jesus rather than yourself or they will always come to you to be fed. They need to learn to fish for themselves, to be able to have a relationship with Jesus. We want to make disciples, not dependents.

•Pray without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

To pray without ceasing, does it mean say the Our Father over and over? No. It’s about the position of the heart. We wake up and thank God for another day, commit the day to Him, ask Him for His will to be done in our lives, ask Him to use me today for Your glory God. And we take Him with us. While we’re in traffic. Thank you Lord for getting me to work safely. Bless that person that cut me off. Pray about your work day in the car, pray for your church, your pastor, your family and friends. It’s keeping Him involved in our day, staying connected to Him.

•Cultivate joy by having a grateful heart.

Remember the joy of our salvation.

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Romans 12:12

12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

Stay in prayer, stay hopeful through affliction. He’s warning us that we will have affliction, but stay in hope.

It’s also important to remember that though weeping may last for a night, joy will come in the morning.

Psalm 30:5

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

•Speak the Word over your life.

Sometimes we need to get out of our feelings and get into the word. The enemy will try to use our feelings against us. The heart is deceitful. Let the word of God have the final say!

Jeremiah 17:9

9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

In Psalm 103 we see that David commanded his own soul to bless the Lord and David reminded himself who God was and what He has done for him.

Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

3 Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies

•Get out of yourself and help others.

Philippians 2

Imitating Christ’s Humility

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,

2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very natureb of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God will pour out as you pour into others. I have experienced this in my own life. Whatever you need, give it away and it will come to you. We reap what we sew.

Scripture says that the enemy prowls around like a lion, waiting to devour.

1 Peter 5:8

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Notice that this scripture says, "like a roaring lion." The devil is like a lion. He's not a lion. He is like a lion. All he is, is a noisy scary looking beast. The good news is that scripture says that greater is He in me than he that is in the world. We have been given all authority over the enemy, in Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus!

1 John 4:4

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Luke 10:19

19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

The enemy will attempt to steal our peace and joy by launching fiery darts. My Bible says in Ephesians, that the shield of faith extinguishes All the fiery darts of the enemy. The Bible says that the word is our sword. Keep your sword sharp by reading the word.

God is with us always and has given us the Armor of God.

Ephesians 6:10-20

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

If the enemy is opposing you, you're going the right way. It's important to know who we are in Christ, and the authority we have in Jesus, over the enemy. No weapon formed against you will prosper. Weapons will form, but they will not prosper.

Isaiah 54:17

"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD."

Isaiah 59:19

"So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him."

•Knowing who we are in Christ and knowing what the word of God says is necessary for believers.

•Praise and worship is another weapon. This is how we fight our battles! See 2 Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat defeats the enemy with praise! God is our defender! All we have to do is rest in Him and He fights for us!

2 Chronicles 20:15-22

15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

120 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[a] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,

for his love endures forever.”

22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

Exodus 14:14

14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Victory is ours in Jesus! Jesus paid it all on the cross.

By staying in prayer, standing firm in our armor, praising and worshiping, we stay in victory.

May we all take time to be with the Lord and stand firm in His might power.