Christians must fight against "peace stealers" to maintain a state of rest within the Lord, Joel Osteen says. Osteen, who heads Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, wrote in a recent blog post that while the Bible encourages Christians to "enter into the rest of God," it can become a daily struggle to maintain internal peace when we encounter so many new challenges.
Therefore, Christians have to fight
daily to maintain their peace, not allowing "peace stealers" to cause
them a life of stress and grief.
"There will always be people
and circumstances trying to pull you out of peace. If you're going to live in
peace, you have to put up some boundaries," Osteen writes.
The pastor goes on to say that
Christians must try to immerse themselves in the most peaceful environment
possible. Some of your choices can lead to peace, such as choosing to avoid
watching the news excessively to protect yourself from reading about endless
murders and violence.
Osteen uses an example from his own
life in which he went to see a movie with his wife, but the movie was so
violent that he left the theater "on edge."
"Always remember that what you
see and hear eventually gets into your subconscious mind. If you're taking in
all the negative, violence and discouragement, that's going to depress your
spirit. We have to constantly be aware of what might pull us out of rest,"
Osteen writes.
"Sometimes it's our own
choices. But just like your choices can pull you out of rest, your choices can
lead you into rest. Choose wisely and hold on to the peace He's giving you
every single day!" Osteen concludes.
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