I want to talk to you today about Protect Your Peace. We should get up each morning believing for a good day, expecting favor, knowing that God is directing our steps. At the same time we should realize: everything may not go perfect, every person may not treat us right, our plans may not stay on schedule. There may be some bumps in the road and things that we didn’t see coming. If you’re only going to enjoy the day, if your plans work out, then you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. In our cars we have a spare tire. When I drive somewhere I’m not expecting to have a flat, I’m not expecting to hit a pothole, I’m expecting to get to my destination as planned, but even though I’m expecting things to go my way, I’ve made provision in case it doesn’t. I’ve taken steps ahead of time, in case the tire goes flat.
And the people in your life, as good as they are, there are no perfect people, there is no perfect boss, no perfect friend, no perfect neighbour, no perfect spouse. Victoria says that I am, but I know: she’s either lying or saying it by faith. Give people room to be human, quit expecting them to perform perfectly all the time. “Well, they hurt my feelings”. If you have your spare tire, you forgive them and move on. Don’t have unrealistic expectations. That person that loves you so much, no matter how good they are, at times they’re going to disappoint you, they’re going to say things that they shouldn’t. Don’t be easily offended. “Well, my spouse didn’t tell me he loved me today. This neighbor doesn’t invite me over, like she used to. My co-workers didn’t congratulate me on my big presentation”. You don’t know what’s going on in their lives, don’t take it personally.
When we go around offended, upset, discouraged, really it dishonors God. He’s entrusted us with life. He could’ve chosen anyone to be here, but before time began, in his great mercy he hand-picked you. He not only chose you, but he created you in his own image, he’s planned out your days, he’s crowned you with favor, now he’s directing your steps. The way to honor God is to get up each day with passion, being your best, pursuing what he put in your heart. Don’t get stuck in the potholes of life, shake off the offenses, shake off what somebody said, shake off self-pity, bitterness. God saw everything that happened to you, he knows what was unfair, he knows how you were treated, nothing is a surprise to him. If you’ll keep moving forward, he’ll not only bring you out, he’ll bring you out better.
“Well, Joel I would do this, but these people at work don’t treat me right. They’re unfair, they get on my nerves”. You can’t control what other people do, but you can’t control what you do. If you let them upset you, you are giving away your power, you are letting them control you. The scripture says, “God has given us the power to remain calm in times of adversity”. You don’t have to let the same things keep upsetting you. Quit telling yourself: I can’t help it, they just know how to push my buttons. Try a new approach, decide ahead of time, that you’re going to stay in peace and you’ll tap in to that power to remain calm.
A man was walking down the street with his friend to buy a newspaper, they came to the corner store, where the man bought the paper every day. The clerk behind the counter was as unfriendly as can be, cold, inconsiderate acted like the men was bothering him. The men bought the paper, smiled, and said: I hope you have a great day. The clerk didn’t even look up, didn’t even acknowledge that he said anything. His friend said: man, what was wrong with that clerk, is he always that rude? The men said: every morning. The friend said: are you always that nice? He said: every morning. The friend looked kind of puzzled and said: why? The men said: I’ve made up my mind, I’m not going to let another person ruin my day. He was saying: I have my spare tire. Yes, I hit this pothole every morning, but I’m not going to get stuck here arguing, being rude, letting him ruin my morning.
Years ago I promised a friend, that works in local news, that I would be on their morning program. I had to be at the station at 6:30 on a Monday morning. I woke up that day and I was tired, I didn’t feel like going, it was cold and raining, but I made the commitment. I was told to park inside the fence, close to the main doors. I pulled in, dark outside, nobody was there, I was about to park and get out, this lady came running over, a security guard, waving both of her arms, like I had committed a major crime. She said: what are you doing? You cannot park here. This is reserved for our special guest. I thought: God I’m gonna need three spare tires for this lady, she’s like a wrecking ball. I said: “Ma’am, I’m on the program this morning, I was told to park here”. She said: “Did you hear what I said? You cannot park here”! I had to remind myself, “Joel, you’re a pastor, your church is right across the freeway”.
I smiled and said: “That’s fine, when parked in the neighborhood, a couple hundred yards away, still raining, had to run to the building and did the program. She must have seen it, because afterwards she came running up and said: “Oh, pastor Osteen, if I would have known that was you, I would have let you park there. Do you have time to pray for me”? I thought, I would, if I didn’t have to walk so far. I said: “Sure, I will”. I wanted to pray God, deliver her from that meanness. What am I saying: don’t let another person ruin your day, don’t let a grouchy boss make you grouchy, to where you come home and be sour with your family. You can’t keep it from happening, but you can keep it from getting on the inside. You have to guard your heart.
But it’s easy to get baited into conflict, argue with people, try to prove our point. You have to be selective which battles you fight. You’re not supposed to engage in every conflict. If that battle is not between you and your God-given destiny, you should ignore it. Most of the things that come against us are simply distractions. Ask yourself: if I win this battle, how would it benefit me, what will it accomplish? That person that cut me off in traffic, if I rush up and cut them off, what did it gain me? I don’t even know the person. It’s a distraction. If I’m rude back to the person, that sold me the paper, yes, it makes the flesh feel good, but it doesn’t put me further down the road, it’s a distraction. You need to choose your battles wisely. If you make the mistake of engaging in every conflict, straightening out coworkers, proving to people who you are, you won’t have time to fight the battles, that do matter.
When David was a teenager, he was out working in the shepherd’s fields. His father asked him to take lunch to his brothers. They were in another city, serving in the army. When David arrived, he saw Goliath taunting the Israelites, making fun of them. He asked the men there: what is the prize for the man, that defeats this giant? They said: the reward is, that person will get one of the kings daughters in marriage, plus they won’t have to pay taxes. Well, that got David’s attention. He realized: that was a battle worth fighting, there were spoils, there were benefits. But, when David’s older brother Eliab heard him inquiring about fighting Goliath, he tried to embarrass David. He said in front of all of the people: David, what are you even doing here? And what have you done with those few sheep, you’re supposed to be taking care of? He’s trying to make David to feel small, saying: David you’re unimportant, you’ll never do anything great.
Now, David had killed a lion and a bear with his bare hands, I have no doubt, he could have taken care of Eliab. But the scripture says, David turned and walked away. One reason David did great things is he knew which battles to fight. He could have gotten into strife, arguing, trying to prove the Eliab that he was important, but if he would have been engaged in that conflict, if he would have taken the bait, he would have gotten distracted, wasted time, and who knows, maybe he would have never faced Goliath. Are you fighting battles, that don’t matter, that are keeping you from battles that do matter? You have to learn to walk away from things, walk away from petty arguments, walk away from disrespect, walk away from jealous people.
Proverbs says: “Avoiding a fight is a Mark of honor”. Not winning a fight, but walking away from a fight. That’s not being weak, that takes a strong person, that’s a Mark of honor. In your marriage you need to do what you can to stay in unity. It’s easy to argue over every little thing, live bitter, offended. The problem is: there will be some big giants, that you and your spouse have to face. On the way to your destiny, there will be Goliath, that’s how we go to new levels. But, if you’re distracted arguing over little things, you won’t be able to defeat those big giants. You have to pass the test abiding your tongue, walking away when you feel like telling somebody off, overlooking in a fence. The scripture says: “One can chase a thousand, two can put ten thousand to fly”. When you’re in agreement with your spouse, you are ten times more powerful.
As I’ve become more known, I’ve had more critics. And some of them were people, that had large followings. When you hear negative things, especially that are not true or where it’s taken out of context, it’s tempting to respond. But, by the grace of God, I’ve always been real good of letting it go, it’s never bothered me in the least bit. I’ve learned: when I stay on the high road, not trying to prove to people who I am, not live defensively, that God will get me to where I’m supposed to be. But some of the people, that were so against me, today they don’t have their platforms, they don’t have their followings, things have happened where it didn’t last. And I’m not happy about it, my point is: God will take care of the Eliabs, God will deal with the people, that are trying to discredit you. It’s not your job to straighten them out. Walk away from them and let God fight those battles.
David said: God prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. When you have an enemy, that means, God has a table for you. When someone’s coming against you, when you have an Eliab, somebody at work trying to discredit you, recognize, there’s a table there. You can go argue with them, be rude back to those that are rude to you, or you can sit at the table that God prepared. When you’re saying: God, I’m trusting you to fight this battle, it’s not between me and my destiny, so I’m not gonna worry about these people at work, that are trying to make me look bad, I’m gonna keep honoring you, being my best and I know, while I’m seated at the table you prepared, while I’m in peace you will take care of what’s coming against me.
The apostle Paul did this. He had all kinds of opposition: religious leaders didn’t accept him, the government thought he had too much influence, people lied about him, he was put in prison. He had plenty of opportunities to live bitter, offended. One place we see his attitude, he said: “Alexander the coppersmith has done me great wrong, but God will repay him”. He was saying: that battle is not between me and my destiny, I’m not going to take the bait, I’m not going to get distracted, I’m gonna sit at the table and let God fight my battles. Are you fighting, where you should be sitting, trying to straighten somebody out, prove to them who you are? That’s not your battle, that battle is the Lord’s. You don’t have to pay people back, you don’t have to get even, God is your vindicator, he will make up for the wrongs, that were done for to you. If you will stay in faith, stay in peace on that high road, God will vindicate you better, than you can vindicate yourself.
Verse 27 says, “They despise Saul and refuse to bring him gifts, but Saul ignored them”. If you’re going to fulfill your purpose, you have to get good at ignoring things, ignore negative comments, ignore disrespect, ignore the naysayers. They don’t control your destiny, they are distractions, to try to keep you from God’s best. Instead of being upset over who’s not for you and frustrated over who’s trying to make you look bad, do like Saul, ignore it. Jealous people can’t keep you from your destiny, small-minded people cannot stop your purpose.
When Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem, there were two men at the bottom of the mountain: Sanballat and tobiah, that didn’t like Nehemiah. They were constantly criticizing him, spreading rumors, trying to ruin his reputation. All day they would shout insults, making fun, trying to bait Nehemiah into coming down. When Nehemiah could have come off the mountain and defeated them, he could have shut them up, but he knew, as long as he was fighting with them, he wouldn’t be making progress on the wall. He knew, they were not between him in his destiny. He didn’t get upset, he didn’t try to straighten them out, he simply ignored them. He went on to finish the wall in record time.
When God puts a dream in your heart, there will always be Sanballats and tobias’s, people that are critical, jealous, disrespectful, people that try to get you riled up. Don’t take the bait, that is not a battle you have to fight, they are distraction to try to get you off course, so you miss your purpose. Do like Nehemiah: learn to ignore the Sanballats and tobias’s. Your assignment is too important to be distracted by jealous, small-minded people.
In the scripture it tells us to put on the whole armor of God. Part of that armor is the shoes of peace. It’s interesting, that God chose our feet for peace. It implies: everywhere we go, we’re going to have to choose to stay in peace, because you can have your helmet of salvation on, your shield of faith, your belt of truth, but if you don’t put your shoes of peace on, if you don’t make this decision, that you’re not going to get upset, you’re not going to live offended, you’re not going to get baited into conflict, then even though you have all the other armor on, without peace it’s not effective. Every morning you need to make sure you put on your shoes of peace. Too many people go through the day barefooted, offended, discouraged, upset, but when you make this decision at the start of the day, that nothing is going to upset you, really, you’re putting your shoes on, you’re saying: “God, I trust you. I know, you’re directed my steps. And even if things don’t go perfectly today, I believe, all things are going to work out for my good”.
When you’re in peace, you’re in a position of power. When you’re upset, discouraged, offended, just the opposite, you won’t have the strength you need. Next time you’re tempted to be offended, recognize what’s happening, don’t take that vain. When someone says something derogatory, instead of trying to pay them back, ignore them, take a seat at the table God prepared. When you walk away from the Eliabs, the battles that don’t matter, you will come into your Goliath, opportunities that will thrust you ahead. I’m asking you to protect your peace. If you’ll do this, I believe and declare, you’re not only going to enjoy your life more, but God is going to take care of what’s coming against you, he’s going to vindicate you, promote you and take you to new levels of your destiny, in Jesus name.