Cultivating Peace

Did you ever notice that often when trying to maintain a beautiful lawn there will be some parts where the grass is thick and green and other areas, it’s sparse and dry.  There can even be a few places where the grass is missing entirely.
 
Where the grass is healthy, there are no weeds.  Where the lawn is sparse, there are a few. Where there’s no grass, the weeds flourish.

When we see the weedy spots, we think, “I really need to pull those things.”  We might even try a weed killer.  We make these efforts but within a few weeks they’re back – and we have to start all over again.

Did you ever think about the fact that we don't have to pull the weeds where the grass is thick?  Instead of spending all our time pulling weeds, maybe we need to invest time making the grass as healthy as possible.  The more healthy grass we have, the fewer weeds we have to pull. 

The same applies to worry.  Worry is like the weeds.  God’s peace is the grass.  Instead of just focusing on eliminating our worries, we need to cultivate God’s peace. 
 
Just as we care for our lawns by providing water, nutrients, and insect control, we can care for our minds by providing the right thoughts.
                   ~excerpted from Mike Bechtle, Discipleship Journal
 
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God 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.  And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ~Philippians 4:6-8
 
Fixing Our Thoughts on What is Right...