How to be a Peacekeeper during the holidays
During the holiday season, many of us are walking into situations and dynamics that might not always be comfortable, and it can oftentimes be hard to show love to those around us. Peace and love, qualities celebrated most during this time of year, just happen to be two main qualities the world desperately needs today. Just as each of us is responsible for walking in love and even loving people who are hard to love, we are also responsible for being peacemakers. Joyce Meyer provides some insight into going the extra mile to make peace when there has been trouble.
1. Pursue Peace with God
Peace must begin with God. We cannot have peace with ourselves or anyone else until we are at peace with God. It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness that can surround Christmastime. We distract ourselves with shopping and cooking and endless family traditions, but we must also remember to be obedient to God’s will and repent of our sin when we do not obey Him. We will not find peace otherwise.
2. Pursue Peace with Yourself
I have found during my years of ministry that many people don’t like themselves, let alone love themselves in a balanced way. To love yourself simply means that you have accepted God’s love for you. I am not suggesting that we think only of ourselves, but we do need to have a healthy attitude toward ourselves and appreciate what God did when He created us. We can only share love and peace with others when we show them to ourselves first.
3. Think Peaceful Thoughts
I like to encourage people to think power thoughts, which are thoughts that add power to your life and strengthen you. If you want to be the peacemaker in your family this holiday season, you can begin by spending some time each day thinking a peace power thought. You can think, “I am a peacemaker. I work for peace everywhere I go. I avoid all strife and disunity.” As soon as you believe you are a peacemaker, you will begin to be one. Let peace begin in your mind and in your home and spread from there.
4. Find Your Peace Stealers
We all have our peace stealers—things that regularly upset us—and it is important for us to know what they are. What kinds of situations steal your peace? Which people in your life irritate you most? What is it about them that annoys you? Will your Christmas be affected by this person’s presence? I ask these questions because being aware of what bothers you can help you avoid being upset and help you not fall into the same trap over and over. Awareness gives you an opportunity to pray about things. Ask God to help you maintain a positive outlook, and look for the blessings—not just the challenges—of the season.
Renowned Bible teacher and #1 New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer teaches readers to love the people in their life who are hard to love. Learn more on how to use kindness as a weapon to overcome the meanness in people by downloading the introduction and chapter 1 for free.
Renowned Bible teacher and #1 New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer teaches readers to love the people in their life who are hard to love.
We’re never going to be able to prevent people from saying or doing things that hurt our feelings. We will always have opportunities to get offended. But if we do things God’s way, we can choose to save ourselves a lot of misery and hardship. This doesn’t mean we allow people to abuse us. No, there is a time for confronting people and dealing with situations. However, the Bible commands us to love our enemies and forgive those who have wronged us, even when it feels impossible.Everything the Lord asks us to do in the Bible is ultimately for our good. In fact, when we choose to love our enemies and forgive those who have hurt us, we are actually helping ourselves more than anyone else. Because whatever the Lord commands us to do, He is going to give us the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish it—and that includes loving and being good to difficult people! God’s love flowing through us is strong enough to melt even the hardest hearts, so use kindness as a weapon to overcome the meanness in people.
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