Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. – John 14:27
Peace is one of the greatest gifts we can receive from Jesus, and something we talk a lot about during the holidays. Why does the gift of peace often feel hard to access?
One reason is that there is a difference between receiving a gift and opening a gift. While Jesus gives the gift of peace, to experience this peace we must know how to pause, enter into it, and savor it. Relational skills help us to do just that!
Some of the skills that can help us experience God’s peace include Create Appreciation (Skill 4) and Godsight (Skill 13). Appreciation teaches us to focus our attention onto the things that bring us peace, and Godsight teaches us how to connect with God, His perspective and His peaceful thoughts.
Another skill that’s foundational to enjoying God’s peace is Simple Quiet (Skill 2). This skill teaches us to intentionally stop, breathe, and downshift our body, mind and emotions into a more calm state. In this state we can more easily experience God’s peace and feel His presence.
Because many of us live in a busy culture and/or were never taught the skills that lead to peace, we often lack peace in our daily lives. Maybe we don’t know how to quiet ourselves, create appreciation, or connect with God. Or we might try and feel like it doesn’t work. If you’ve ever felt this way, you are not alone!
When relational skills are undeveloped, they are like a weak muscle. When first lifting weights to strengthen a weak muscle, the weights feel almost impossible to lift. But if you continue to practice, over time the muscle will grow stronger! In the same way, with practice we can develop the relational skills that produce greater peace in our lives!
If you would like to experience more of Jesus’ peace this holiday season, we invite you to set aside time to strengthen the relational skills that will help. Enjoy one of our free resources below, join our upcoming winter group, or email us at info@thrivetoday.org to find the resource that is right for you.
LEARN MORE
- Holiday Peace Toolkit – strengthen your relational skills and find Jesus’ peace with this FREE resource!
- Tune into this week’s podcast episode to hear how Kailey grew her capacity and found peace and the ability to return to joy when things were tough. Everyone needs a little more energy to deal with the stress and anxiety of life, and that is where practice comes in.
- Our Foundational 5 Winter Group starts January 13th! No matter what life challenges you face or which areas you would like to grow in, the simple skills we will practice together can make a big difference!
- Our Appreciation Journal is a FREE printable for you to download and use anytime you need to reset and focus on the good things.