The Bible says, 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths' (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV). God wants us to trust him. As long as we're struggling to work things out on our own, we're not trusting God, and that means we won't have peace. We can trust him with our work, money, relationships and future. Everything!

All that happens in our lives can fit into his plan for us - even our problems, miseries and troubles (see Romans 8:28). And all he expects from us is to trust him, and acknowledge that he can handle it. When we do this, he promises to 'make [our] paths straight' (Proverbs 3:6 NIV).

When we try to direct our own lives, we follow paths filled with indecisiveness: 'Should I do this or that? Should I go here or over there?' And it produces stress! But as soon as we trust in the Lord, he directs our paths and makes them successful, not stressful. 'Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus' (Philippians 4:6-7 NCV). Notice the order - prayer first, then peace.

So what now? If you're worrying, you're not praying. Worry is a worthless emotion - a waste! So when pressure starts building up, instead of panicking, start praying! Prayer is a remarkable stress reliever.

To have peace we must focus on God's presence. What we choose to focus on either fuels our faith or our fears. The Bible says, 'You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you' (Isaiah 26:3 NIV). That verse could be reduced to one sentence: 'Get your focus in order look at me.'

The psalmist reminds us, 'Be still, and know that I am God' (Psalm 46:10 NIV). These verses were written during the time of Hezekiah. Enemy armed forces had surrounded Jerusalem and the Israelites were tense, so they prayed! And five minutes before noon, God struck the Assyrians with a plague and 185,000 of them perished. Jerusalem was saved, and everyone was joyful. This psalm helps us remember that God is our refuge. No matter how overwhelming the odds seem, he's always with us to help. This psalm tells us of two things about receiving God's help in times of trouble. The first thing is to 'be still'. Many of our troubles come from our inability to sit still. The second thing is to 'know that I am God'.

In the middle of a hurricane or tornado there is a quiet centre called an eye. Likewise, in the storms of life, when everything is blowing apart around us, we can have a quiet God-centre.

So what now? Be still and know. When you live this way, 'the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds' (Philippians 4:7 NIV).

To find real and lasting peace, let's do these two things:

(1) Live by the principles of God's word. 'Great peace have those who love your law' (Psalm 119:165 NIV). Peace arrives when we live in harmony with God. A new car comes with an owner's manual. It tells us that for our car to perform well, we must do certain things at certain times. The Bible is our manual for life. It contains guiding principles for money, health, work, relationships and so much more.

(2) Accept God's pardon. Guilt is the top destroyer of peace. When we feel guilty, we feel haunted by our past. That's why we read about people who make amends for a wrong they committed years earlier. They say, 'I was living in hell all those years and had to get it off my chest.' The only way to have peace is to have a clear conscience, and only God is able to give us that. 'Our God, no one is like you... you freely forgive our sin and guilt' (Micah 7:18 CEV). Notice, Micah reveals God is eager - ready and waiting - to clean our slates. It's his personality. He enjoys forgiving. He owns a big eraser. 'But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away' (1 John 1:9 CEV).

So what now? God is all that is good in this world. Your life will be covered and protected by true peace if you live it according to his design.

Jesus said his peace is a gift. That means we don't have to work for it, we can't earn it or try really hard to get it, and we can't psych ourselves up for it. It's a gift we accept by faith. Jesus also said that his peace is different to the peace the world provides. In the last 3,500 years, the world has only been free of war for 286 of them - that's less than nine per cent. This world's peace doesn't last. But Jesus told his disciples, 'I give you peace, the kind of peace only I can give. It isn't like the peace this world can give. So don't be worried or afraid' (John 14:27-28 CEV). He spoke those words just before he went to the cross! God's peace doesn't rely on circumstances - it's an 'inside job'.

Sometimes people say, 'I need to get away'. This is sometimes known as a geographical cure. We may think that if we leave where we are and go somewhere else, we'll have peace. This may help to a certain extent, but it isn't really a true solution, because it has little effect on our inner state.

In truth, we can get away and find peace! Through Jesus: '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). Where can we find peace? Jesus said, 'In me!'

So what now? Choose to live without fear and worry. Ask Jesus for his gift of peace in your life! And accept this gift wholeheartedly.

With God we have three kinds of peace. (1) Spiritual peace. 'Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ' (Romans 5:1 NIV). We must have peace with God before we can have any other kind of peace. Jesus said, 'I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give' (John 14:27 NLT). God's peace has the hallmark of Heaven on it.

(2) Relational peace. Paul wrote, 'As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone' (Romans 12:18 NIV). Relational peace decreases conflict. Relationships can be very fulfilling, but they also cause tension. For most of us, our greatest problems are people problems: interactions with our family, friends and workmates. We consistently have to deal with competition, conflict and criticism. And these things can steal our peace.

(3) Emotional peace. 'Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since...you were called to peace' (Colossians 3:15 NIV). The Greek word for 'rule' means 'to umpire'. An umpire's role is to maintain peace. They ensure the game is played in a smooth and disciplined way. And the Holy Spirit is our internal umpire to keep us at peace when everything around us appears chaotic.

So what now? Here's a great Bible promise: 'You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you' (Isaiah 26:3 NLT)! Do you need peace today? Turn to God; you won't be disappointed.

Before someone can touch a person's heart, he or she has to know what's in it. That's the law of connection. And we connect by listening. A reluctance to listen is too common among people. Too many problems are caused by faulty, ineffective communication. And the vast majority of communication problems stem from poor listening.

We have two reasons for listening: (a) to connect with people, and (b) to learn about them. This includes the people we view as our 'competitors' (who can be work colleagues or even loved ones). Sam Markewich quipped, 'If you don't agree with me, it means you haven't been listening.' Although he was joking, the sad truth is that when we view another person only as competition, we end up focusing attention on building our own case or championing our own objectives, and forget that we can learn from the other person.

Now, we don't necessarily want to base our actions on what another person is doing, but we should still listen and learn how to improve ourselves. It's a costly mistake to get so busy doing our own thing, or trying to make things happen, that we stop paying attention to what's going on around us. Every day we live and every experience we have, both negative and positive, can teach us valuable lessons. But first we must listen!

So what now? This coming week, work on improving a shaky relationship by really listening to the other person. Enjoy connecting and learning.