There’s power in peace! If the devil can’t get you upset, he has no power over you! He gains control only when you ‘lose it’. He’ll actually set you up to get upset; that way he can steal your peace, confuse you and make you run in circles. 

Ever get into an argument just before church, then feel ‘hypocritical’ while you were there? And all the while the devil is smiling and saying, 'Gotcha!' That’s because he knows God’s Word can only be 'sown in peace' (James 3:18). If he can keep you from receiving the seed of God’s Word, he can rob you of the harvest of blessing that comes from it. That’s why you must stay in peace. 

Listen, 'The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness' (James 3:17-18 TLB). 

Next time you get all worked up, ask yourself, 'What’s the enemy trying to do here? If I give in to these negative emotions what will the result be?' When you’re upset you lose your joy, and when you lose your joy you lose your strength, because '... the joy of the Lord is your strength' (Nehemiah 8:10). So today, do your utmost to exercise self-control, and remain at peace!

I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me. Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. I cry to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge,  my portion in the land of the living." Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me. "

(Many of the reflections on each page are used with the kind permission of United Christian Broadcastors (UCB) from their FREE daily devotional - The Word for Today. They allow the publication of 52 of their passages per year and I find their messages apt and though-provoking for the times we live in.)

A Circle of Prayer around the world praying for and with each other, for peace and for a world in crisis. Please read more about it and perhaps join us, prayer was never more needed than it is in these times!

Praying all year round for the souls of our deceased relatives and friends, for the souls of those most in need of prayer and for those souls in purgatory who have nobody to pray for them.