Peace?

What I need is peace! With finishing Year 12 and going straight to university, I feel a sense of hurry, anxiety and worry. This is supposed to be the time of my life. How do I gain some peace?

Great question! Sometimes it feels like we go from one issue to the next without time for rest or reflection. We need to find inner peace, peace with those around us and peace with God.
If we have the right tools in place, we can even remain peaceful through the trials that come our way. It is normal that most people only have peace when things are going their way.
As someone once said, we have to learn to change what we can change, accept what we can’t change, and seek God’s wisdom to help us know the difference. The first important rule is this;

Do what you can do with God’s help, hand over to God what you can’t do and let him handle it. This will leave you free to enjoy your life.

Desiring peace is not enough; you need to make some changes in your life to achieve it.

Peace in God
> Let Jesus govern our lives through being His disciple. God is simply our Friend and Guide. Don’t try to make it complicated.
> Know God’s Word. He gives us clear principles to live our lives by. The Holy Spirit is our best chance of maintaining peace.
> Know your enemy. The fact is there is good and evil. Satan is real. Use your relationship with God to combat the effect Satan can have on our lives.
> Don’t worry about the future. Have goals and plan, but let the lead come from God.

Peace with yourself
> Stop rushing. Many of us rush to events that add little meaning to our lives. Guilt usually exists with a hurried life and guilt is a killer of peace.
> Accept yourself. We are already perfect in Christ. Don’t let your faults distract you from achieving. Focus on unique strengths.
> Keep your priorities in order. Health needs to be near the top of the list, as without your health you can’t achieve anything else.
> Control your thoughts. A client recently said she goes to sleep at night reflecting on all the things she has done wrong during the day. Simply by changing this ritual to thinking about the positives of her day, she slept better, achieved more in her day and is a happier person.

Being at peace with others
> Esteem others higher than yourself. This takes humility and grace. We need to make sure we don’t think we are better than others, that we don’t make or maintain peace with others.
> Let people be themselves and be adaptable to individual personalities and needs.
> Have strong boundaries. Don’t pursue relationships that are wrong for you.
> Let go of offences. As one old saying puts it—what other people say about us is none of our business. Live by integrity, not by defending.

Peace arrives by pursuing it. Make the necessary changes in your life using these tips and peace will be your reward.