How to Get Peace (Even If You're Having a Really Bad Day)

Do you ever have one of those days?

You know, those days when nothing goes right. You make a big mistake at work. You get into a fight with your wife. Someone cuts you off in traffic. Your dog pees on the carpet.

Lara Cores (CC)

All of these little things keep adding up until you reach your breaking point. You just want to escape. You just want to lie down for a minute.

You just want peace.

But you can’t lie down. You’ve got emails to answer, bills to pay, and mouths to feed.

15 Things God Won't Tell You

Satan likes to get into your head and make you think thoughts that aren't true. He's especially good at using our prejudices, experiences, and weaknesses to make us think God is telling us something He's not.

echiner1 (CC)

Here are fifteen things God won't tell you. So if you hear them, you know they're coming from someone else:

19 Things Satan Won't Tell You

The enemy is great at lying to you. He knows just what to say to distort your image of God. He knows how to tempt you and how to lead you astray.

But here are nineteen things he won’t ever tell you:

The First Step You Absolutely Must Take When Walking with Christ

So you've said the prayer. You've bowed the knee. You committed your life to Christ. Now what?

Gonmi (CC)

It may have been hard to swallow your pride and admit you have sinned, that you rebelled against God. But now that you’re in the fold it can be even harder to know what to do next.

Believe it or not, the answer involves food.

One Simple Way to Be More Like Jesus

We all want to be more like Jesus. But the prospect of carrying a cross, of turning the other cheek, of loving our enemies is overwhelming.

Ryk Neethling (CC)

What if I told you there’s a simple way to start down that path of becoming more Christ-like? Here it is:

4 Ways to Be Positive (Even If You're Surrounded by Whiners)

You want to be a positive person. You really do.

But every time you try to think positively, someone grabs you and pulls you back down to earth. Maybe it's a snarky comment, a pessimistic outlook on your situation, or just plain whining. Whatever it is these people keep dragging you down.

And it's not like you can just cut them out of your life. These people are your family. They are your co-workers. Or worse: they are your (gasp) fellow Christians.

Maybe it's just time to join the whiners and pessimists. It would be easier that way. Besides, they seem to lead happy lives, right?

One Thing That Might Help You Overcome Fear

Let's be honest: frugality had nothing to do with it. Frugality was just a shroud for terror.

The master had different words for it:

You wicked, lazy servant!

Matthew 25:26

These two adjectives were the fruit of the servant’s fear. He didn't intend to be wicked or lazy, but fear had forced his hand.

Lawrence OP (CC)

In fact, the servant’s plan had worked: he didn't lose the bag of gold (or "talent" in other translations) given him by his master. He returned it exactly how it he received it.

So why wasn't the master pleased?

Had he wanted the servant to do nothing with the money, the master would have simply kept it himself. He could have buried his own gold. Instead he wanted the servant to invest it, to multiply, to use it.

But the fear of loss was too great.

I don't know about you, but I can empathize with the scared servant. Despite knowing my calling, I let my writing skills lie dormant for years. I was distracted. I was afraid of failing. I was scared I would be exposed as a fraud of a writer.

But there is one verse in the Parable of the Talents that should help you and me overcome that fear.