“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT

Being a woman of peace and hope is extremely important, especially if God has given us a platform to teach and train up other women, and this has been something I’ve strived for over the past ten years. The world today is full of chaos, drama, and heartache. Yet the way we live and how we respond in any given situation tells people what we believe far beyond what we will ever say. I don’t know about you but I find myself some days longing for my “happily every after” where I don’t have to go from one storm to the next. I prefer comfort over crisis, and confuse peace for perfection. In today’s article we’re going to learn what it takes to become a beacon of hope and share the peace of God in a world that wants to leave us hopeless and in a constant state of anxiety.

Looking To Jesus

All throughout the New Testament we read how Jesus tells his followers to have peace, keep peace, and hold on to peace. He describes Himself as the hope of the world, and how we can have hope in Him. That is all well and good, but when you are faced with a death in the family, a loved one who isn’t following the Lord, or a diagnosis, how do you cling to the words of Jesus? And more importantly, how are you supposed to share that hope and peace with others around you? The sure-fire way I’ve found this is by looking to Jesus for our lasting rest and peace. When we seek God every day and get into His Word, we are refreshed. I like to think of it as a warm summer day when you are sweaty and parched; all you want to do is drink a nice cold glass of iced water to quench your thirst and cool you off. Well the same is true when you spend time with God and get into His word. Life may be chaotic right now, and there are a lot of uncertainties, but one thing for certain is I make it a priority to spend time with the Lord after I get up. I like to think of it as a coffee date with Jesus each morning. I will get up, use the restroom and freshen up, then grab a cup of coffee and spend time both praying and reading a daily devotion. I ask the Lord to be real to me and pour His hope and peace upon me that day. I come to Him with an honest and open heart, ready to learn and get filled up once again. Do I physically feel Him everyday? No, as a matter of fact, it feels more like a routine most days. However, as I spend time with Him, I’m strengthened and encouraged to keep fighting the good fight. God reminds me that His plans for me are good, according to Jeremiah 29:11, and I have every tool necessary to help others in need and live a fruitful life here on earth. I just need to keep my eyes on Jesus.

Choosing Peace Over Anxiety

Another way we can become a beacon of hope in this world is by choosing peace over anxiety. As someone who fights against this on a daily, almost hourly basis at times, it isn’t an easy task to undertake. To choose peace is going to take some grit and at times you may feel like you are failing. Yet let me encourage you ladies, you must fight! Satan knows he can’t gain your allegiance, that is already a sealed deal when you became a follower of Jesus. So the next best thing he does is try and steal your peace and make you feel hopeless. He will distract you from the purpose and plans God has for you, causing you to live a mediocre life always striving for things that don’t satisfy. Yet when we realize we are already in a fight daily with the demonic forces of this world, and we have all the tools we need to win, that is when the enemy gets scared. Because he knows that a woman who knows who she is, who she belongs to, and that she has an advantage in the fight – because Jesus is on our side -, she is an unstoppable force! It doesn’t take a prophet to tell us we’re in the last days. If you look on television, social media, and even in our neighborhoods you will see there’s chaos, drama, and hopelessness all around us. Yet we are not of this world ladies. Our true home is in heaven and we have the spirit of God living on the inside of us! This means we carry the King of hope and the calmer of storms inside us, and we are called to share that same spirit with the world! Yes, the world is very dark right now, but our light needs to shine bright now more than ever before. As Matthew says, you wouldn’t take a candle and hide it under a basket, or in our case put a bowl over it, you would set it somewhere to give off light so you can see and it can help anyone else around you see. This is what we are called to ladies. So today, instead of allowing the blanket of hopelessness to suffocate you, and allowing anxiety to overshadow you like a dark cloud, choose peace! Choose hope ladies! Because others are depending on the amazing gifts and talents you have to offer the world! We need you! YES YOU!

Stand Tall, Be You!

You are a queen, you have married in to a royal family! This is something I have been learning recently, and something God has been helping me to realize. God spoke to me the other day about walking out the purpose He has for me and embracing who I am. He has shown me there are others, women especially, that need my voice and my gifts in order to get out of the pit of despair they have found themselves in. You may be as I was and say, “But that’s a tall order and I’m messed up.” Good, because God enjoys taking people who aren’t perfect and using them to be a light to this dying world. If we were perfect than Jesus’ sacrifice would’ve been for nothing. So instead of focusing on what you can’t do, why not start thanking Him for what you can and who He created you to be. There are tons of people that you’ll be able to reach for the kingdom of God that I won’t based on the life you were given and the experiences you’ve been through. And the same is true the other way around. So today, stand tall ladies, adjust that crown, and be the person God created you to be. There is a generation of ladies who are looking to us for answers and it is our job to point them to Jesus. Let’s stop giving in to our selfish natures and feeling sorry for ourselves and determine that we are going to be a beacon of hope and peace to those around us. “I CAN DO HARD THINGS” has become a motto of mine in life, especially over the last 8 or so years. Life hasn’t been easy for me, and I’m sure for some of you out there you can say the same. However, I’ve went ahead and made up my mind that if life is going to keep throwing me lemons, I’m going to make a pie out of it! LOL. I have decided I’m going to be so full of hope and peace during every storm that people can’t help to ask what’s my secret. As the scripture I shared in the beginning, you will have hard times, it isn’t if but when – and for some of us it is a daily occurrence -, yet the good news is Jesus overcame the world through His sacrifice on the cross and the power of His resurrection. So why don’t you go ahead and make your mind up you already won, you are just waiting for the situation and those around you to figure it out.

If every woman would keep their eyes on Jesus, accept and live as the person they were created to be, and chose to live with hope and peace, our world would look very different. I pray that God would help you live empowered by this message, and that you would get fed up with the enemy lying to you and keeping you in a state of chaos and hopelessness. I pray today you would stand tall, with confidence, and be a beacon of hope to those around you. You have every resource you need to live life with purpose and passion, you just have to decide if you’re going to live it. Remember I love you, and more importantly Jesus loves you. Go on girl, shine bright!

Blessings,

Angie Frantz