Episode 116: Accessing Peace in the Unpeaceful

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I think it’s safe to assume that you have some unpeaceful things going on in your life right now. That’s because there is no shortage of unpeaceful things in the world today. We live in a fallen world where our bodies are susceptible to opposition. We are tempted by the natural man inside of us to make choices that disturb our peace and other’s can make those same choices and cause us to feel unpeaceful as well. Even our prophet Russell M. Nelson agrees. He said,

“We are presently living in what surely is the most complicated time in the history of the world. The complexities and challenges leave many people feeling overwhelmed and exhausted…I weep over your heartaches, disappointments, and worries… It seems that we are accosted daily by an onslaught of sobering news. You may have had days when you wished you could don your pajamas, curl up in a ball, and ask someone to awaken you when the turmoil is over.”

I am so grateful for a prophet that leads and guides us with empathy. He truly understands that we are in difficult times and feeling peace in the midst of it isn’t easy. We know that difficult times aren’t going away so how do we feel that peace WHILE those unpeaceful things are happening? That’s what I want to dive into today.

As a therapist I see patients who are experiencing most often some of the more difficult times of their lives. I have noticed a theme of what women are doing that isn’t allowing them to access peace in the unpeaceful. That one thing causing you to not access that peace in the unpeaceful is looking externally for what needs to change in order for you to feel peace. 

What I mean by looking externally is looking for what circumstances need to change, or what other’s need to do in order for you to feel peace. For example you might think or say, "Well if this person would start doing this thing then I could feel peace”. Also saying, “If I had this certain thing in my life or this certain thing out of my life then I could feel peace”. And yes, while looking for sources of things to change isn’t a bad option, if that’s your strategy, then you will never feel true peace. That’s because there isn’t going to be a shortage of things that will need to be changed and looking for the ideal life in order to feel peace is a losing battle. It just won’t happen. 

Instead, you want to look for accessing internal peace WHILE there are unpeaceful things happening around you. That way you can rest peacefully at night even when things aren’t going how you want them to go. What would that be like to be able to not have to control the outside world and still feel peace?President Russell M. Nelson has even pled with us to do this exact thing when he said,

“None of us can control nations or the actions of others or even members of our own families. But we can control ourselves.”

Working within YOU is the key to accessing that peace in the unpeaceful. Not looking at controlling things outside of you. You cannot always control your circumstances or the people around you. So you need to work on what is inside of you. In this past April’s conference, Elder Christopherson spoke about this very subject in regards to becoming one with Christ. He said,

“Becoming one in Christ happens one by one—we each begin with ourselves. We are dual beings of flesh and spirit and are sometimes at war within ourselves.”

The thing that caught my eye with this quote is the part about being "at war within ourselves." In the talk he goes on to quote President Marion G. Romney, a former counselor in the First Presidency and how he explained enduring peace. President Romney said the following two things,

“If a single person, yielding to Satan, is filled with the works of the flesh, he wars within himself. If two yield, they each war within themselves and fight with each other. If many people yield, a society [reaps] the harvest of great stress and contention. If the rulers of a country yield, there is world-wide contention."

“As the works of the flesh have universal application, so likewise does the gospel of peace. If one man lives it, he has peace within himself. If two men live it, they each have peace within themselves and with each other. If the citizens live it, the nation has domestic peace.”

Now let me simplify this a bit. He is saying that we can all have an internal war inside of us that can create not only problems within us but even more problems when we are talking to others who are having that same internal war. But if we can access internal peace and exit that internal war we can not only help ourselves, but others. One of the most powerful tools of putting that war to rest inside of you is accessing the power of personal revelation being able to hear the Savior. President Nelson taught,

“Our Father knows that when we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what will help us the very most is to hear His Son. Because when we seek to hear—truly hear—His Son, we will be guided to know what to do in any circumstance” 

I love that because when you are in those situations that are stealing your peace, the most powerful thing that can bring peace is accessing the Savior. He can give you the information you need for that situation. It is important to remember that the Savior has atoned for everything you have ever felt and experienced and the other people involved in the situation. He has a very good idea of what needs to be done or said and the things you should not be doing or saying.

The enabling power of Jesus Christ comes through personal revelation. Accessing that enabling power of peace through revelation is what will provide you internal peace. He is the source you want to be accessing. He is your source for true peace.

So what you really want in order to feel peace in the unpeaceful is to learn to Hear Him in the Chaos. You need to be able to learn to access that revelation for peace in the midst of the chaos around you. Because just like I said in the beginning, there is no shortage of chaotic things happening around you. You don’t have time or the capacity to control everything in order to create a non chaotic life. You need to be able to hear Him IN the chaos. When you can do that, you can become what I call a divine receiver of His revelation thus enabling you to:

• Stop wasting time and getting distracted so you can accomplish more in less time
• Become a vessel for the Savior to know the exact way to help your loved ones
• Connect to your divine spiritual DNA to get more done than you can do on your own
• Feel PEACE in the unpeaceful so you can go to sleep when life is not how you want

I can teach you how to do that. I am doing a FREE Hear Him in the Chaos Class on August 10th and 11th. I would love for you to join this FREE 90 minute class so you can learn to access that peace in the unpeaceful.