My word for the month of April that I chose to focus on was peace. Peace with myself, peace with my enemies, and peace with God.
Making peace with your enemies
Learn to let go
Part of choosing peace is choosing to let go. I always find myself asking “how do I let go if they’ve hurt me? They deserve to suffer the pain that I’ve suffered.” Naturally, I believe that people should suffer what they’ve inflicted on others. Something that helps me remember to choose peace is remembering that people that are hurting, hurt other people. Something that helped me realize that was Chrissy Metz’s book This is Me.
How do I let go if I still care? I always think about what could’ve been. I always think that it’s my place to fix everything. In the midst of trying to fix things that aren’t meant to be “fixed”, I lose myself along the way. I think about broken relationships that I have with people all the time. Sometimes when we’re busy thinking about what we lost/what we could’ve had, we lose sight of what we actually had. We lose sight of the toxicity that might’ve been hurting us in that relationship. When we lose people it’s for a reason. I’m learning to trust that. At this time, and this day, it’s not best for them to be in your life. This could be because of you, or because of them. Right now they’re not good for you. Or think about this, right now you aren’t good for them. Ouch. Truth hurts.
Another thing that we as humans don't typically put into practice is returning anger with truth and kindness. Let go of the urge to fire back something awful, and realize that it makes you look better to be kind and truthful anyways. Trust me, I learned this the hard way. Also, kindness doesn't mean lying and being fake and then turning around and talking about them to your friends. Returning anger with truth and kindness will truly help things more than you could ever imagine.
Make peace with yourself
1. Stop comparing your looks.
2. Stop comparing your achievements.
3. Stop focusing so much on pleasing other people.
4. Define what you desire and why you want it.
•The root of what you desire reveals what you truly need.
How do I do this?
Make peace with God…..
I can’t tell you a quick fix to help with this, because really there’s only one way. The inner war that we go through is between our godly selves, and our worldly selves. Satan is trying to separate you from God. The less you seek God, the easier it is for Satan to plant lies inside your head. The more you study God’s word, the easier it is to fight those lies with His truth.
The devil tries to take me down with so many things..drama, loneliness, insecurity, uncertainty, temptation, and self-doubt. I’ve learned that the only way I can make peace with myself and with others is through Him. I read once that loneliness is the shortcut to God. Maturely dealing with drama helps you get better at nurturing relationships. Overcoming insecurity helps you learn to love yourself. Uncertainty makes you trust in the Lord. Overcoming self-doubt shows you what you can accomplish through Christ.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Psalm 119:11
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Make peace with God
Maybe you have the wrong view of who God is. I’ve struggled with this too. I’ve always thought that God wanted to make my life boring or that He didn’t actually want me to be happy. Although it literally says in the bible to live your life to the fullest, it says to never settle.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.