I have a beautiful framed painting in my home with a simple verse of Scripture that says, "For He Himself is our peace." (Ephesians 2:14 NKJV) It speaks of Christ and the kind of peace that only He can give. I love the Complete Jewish Bible translation which reads, "For He Himself is our Shalom." Hallelujah!

Jesus told His disciples, "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27 TLB) The Savior gifts all of His followers with the Holy Spirit, who enables the Prince of Peace Himself to dwell on the inside of us continually. But sometimes we forget that we need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to walk in the peace of Christ on a moment-by-moment basis.

One of the best ways to do that is to heed God's instructions in Psalm 55:22 (AMP): "Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail)." The Lord offers us His unshakeable peace, but we can resist that peace by insisting on carrying our own burdens. It's up to us to "release the weight" of them - letting them go, and entrusting them to an all-sufficient God who can carry them and sustain us so that we won't falter or fail. This is how we can avoid being crushed by our own burdens, and suffering physically and mentally under a weight that we were never meant to bear. We can pray, "Lord, I'm giving You this burden. I surrender it to You, and I ask You to release me from its ability to harm me in any way." That's a prayer that our loving God is more than happy to answer.

The apostle Paul prayed, "Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance." (2 Thessalonians 3:16 NASB) This is a prayer that we can pray for ourselves on a regular basis. It is a prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself, so it's one that we know the Lord will answer. (1 John 5:14-15) For the same reason, praying the promises of God is supremely powerful. Scripture says: "For the good man - the blameless, the upright, the man of peace - he has a wonderful future ahead of him. For him there is a happy ending." (Psalm 37:37 TLB) I have seen so many people who didn't experience "a happy ending" that I have begun earnestly praying for one for myself - and I am determined to be a person of "peace" and to live an "upright" life before God. Today, ask yourself if you are resisting the peace of Christ, or cooperating with Him all the way!

Prayer: Lord, on the basis of Your Word, I ask that You "continually grant me peace in every circumstance." Help me to cooperate with Your Spirit by casting all of my cares and burdens upon You, instead of trying to carry them myself. Remind me not to worry about anything, but to pray about everything - with thanksgiving - so that Your unshakeable peace will guard my heart and mind at all times. (Philippians 4:6-7) Thank You that as I follow Your Spirit's leading, You will never allow me to slip, falter, or fail!