Trust in God for a Life of Peace and Joy

Aug. 1, 2018 | By Creflo Dollar

Not everyone has the same quality of life. Most of us have had the opportunity to compare people whose lives seem miserable and wretched with people whose lives are peaceful and joyful. Some people simply accept bad things with a sour “well, that’s life” attitude; others show a peace and serenity that sets them apart. We can be in the second group of people when we trust God to watch over and direct every area of our lives.

We’re in a spiritual battle, and the fight is centered squarely in our minds. Our thought processes affect how we perceive what happens around us. We can either worry and adopt a negative “knee-jerk” reaction, or proactively decide to be positive. God wants the best for us, and if we’re to know exactly what the best means for us on a personal level, we need to break out of the world’s way of thinking. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2, NLT).

The prevailing attitude about health and longevity is bleak. The world gives us a limited number of years to expect to live, so people try to squeeze their entire lives into a predetermined number of years before simply giving up. Ill-health is to be expected according to worldly standards, simply because of physical age, but, as believers, we don’t have to tolerate early death. God’s will is for us to live long and live strong. “With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation” (Psalm 91:16).

Life is more than just merely existing. What’s going in our minds and hearts has a profound impact on our lives, either for good or for bad. Peace and joy from God are real, and they’re powerful enough to affect us on the physical level. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). Deeply studying what God says has the effect of bringing us great joy that goes through us to our very core.

God’s Word concerning those who trust in Him is always positive. It’s easy to tell who believes what they read, because they are the optimists who say the glass is half-full, not half-empty. These are the people who always look at the bright side of life, because they know everything will turn out fine. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). For Christians, the Word is always full of joy and optimism, and brimming with promises of good things. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT).

Life is too precious to waste. Letting a bad attitude spoil what God wants us to enjoy is an unpleasant thought to consider. Unlike so many others, we don’t have to stress out or worry about things we can’t control. It’s hard to be anything but joyful when we consider this.