4 steps to experience Gods peace

As a young adult on this journey of self-discovery and adulting, I've had a misunderstanding of peace for quite some time. I used to think that peace was not being bothered whatsoever, relaxing, or having a great day without any distractions or frustrations. I thought peace was the feeling you get after you wake up from an amazing nap and your body feels refreshed or even when your parents don't ask for your help all day and you can finally be….at peace (that one was personal LOL). If you thought that was peace…ok I understand why but, that's not true peace. The kind of peace I just described was peace that WE ourselves created. We create the atmosphere of peace, we plan our peace, we make it clear how we want our peace to look, feel and smell like. The interesting thing about our idea of peace is it never lasts. It only lasts for a moment, day, a week if you're lucky. The spa day will be over and you'll feel great for a while; the vacation will be over and you'll be back to work; the weekend ends and it's back to the same routine; you light your favorite scented candle and relax only to get up and finish what you started in a few hours. Our kind of peace never lasts, and this is why. We are not experiencing true peace. We are robbing ourselves from an everlasting experience that can change our lives and our state of mind forever. So you want to know how to experience true peace, even through your worst and best days? I got you!

Before and during my 21 day Daniel fast, this scripture moved me and I've been applying it ever since. Everyday I would repeat it to myself and try to memorize it so I can say it throughout the day. It help when I would repeat it like it was steps and in a way it is. So let's get to it!

Philippians 4:6-7
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Ask God for what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

1. Don't worry about anything
​​- 1 Peter 5:7-  Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
- The first step to experiencing peace is giving God ALL of your worries and anxieties. You can miss out on not only true peace but blessings when you are worried about everything. There's no room for trust nor faith if you have already occupied your mind with worries and anxieties that you know you can't handle on your own. God got you and He’s in control.

2. Pray about everything
- Mark 11:24- I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Never stop praying
- This is something that's not new to me, I LITERALLY pray about everything. No matter how minor, silly, or serious it might be, I always lift it up in prayer. It could be something that just popped into my head randomly and I just pray to God about it. That's something that I encourage you to do because you're allowing God in when your prayers are not only about the serious stuff that needs fixing in your life but the minor, and silly things too. That's called relationship. In every relationship there's constant communication between you and that friend, sibling, parent, boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife. You share everything and anything with them without limitations (I know that's debatable depending on your comfort level in the relationship). All in all, keep praying, keep talking to God and never stop. He is listening to every single prayer you lift up and He already has an answer.

3. Ask God for what you need
- Need - lack of something wanted or deemed necessary, urgent want.
- Let’s not overthink this and conclude this line by saying “God, all I need is you”. We know we need God and we have Him. Let's be real and honest here and tell him what you really need. If you need a car, full time job, scholarship, a house, an apartment, money, a friend, wisdom, clarity, peace, or anything at all, ask God. God doesn't want you to lack in anything, He doesn't want you to feel that He is a God that can't be reached by His people. He torn the veil years ago that was separating us from communicating with Him one on one. All we have to do is just ask and three of the greatest answers He can give is a yes, no, or wait; and each answer is evidence that He loves us so much to even answer us.

4. Thank Him for all He has done
- The most effortless thing that we can do is be thankful for all that God has done for us. When thanking God, it's not a matter of thanking Him when the blessings are overflowing but thanking Him when you feel empty; thanking Him when you've had to sacrifice something or someone; thanking Him when you have to be obedient; thanking Him for your safety and thanking Him for provision. The key word here is “all”, not “little” or “big”. We can't measure or put a limit to how much we should thank God. Thank Him for everything, thank Him for ALL he has done.

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

- Wow, now tell me this doesn't sound like true peace y'all! You know it's true peace when our hearts and minds are not flustered all over the place. You know it's true peace when it's guarded. You know it's true peace when you don't understand why you're not worried about the daily life struggles. Only as you live in Christ, you can experience such a peace. It's a peace that no one can take away as long you apply this scripture to your life.

You deserve peace, you deserve joy, you deserve to experience and live in it daily. God wants to see you walking in alignment in His will and that requires obedience and application of His word. Yes, we are busy, focused and passionate young adults and it's hard to think about or memorize scripture. We make time for the things that we value and if we value Christ, we can make time to read His word and apply. I pray this post gives you an extra push to seek His face more and experience His peace. Love you and God bless.