When I was younger, I used to pray that God change this one and that one so that I could be happy or have peace. Now, I know that God isn't going to change the world because I'm in it. He put ME here to make this world a better place to live in. It's not God's job to change people for me. It's MY job to be the change that's needed here. When I pray, I don't ask God to change people to accommodate me anymore because whether people want to live right or treat me well doesn't affect the peace, joy and contentment I feel inside. They can misbehave, curse me, lie on me, talk about me, be fake towards me, and attempt to hurt my feelings, it doesn't faze me. People are people and they will stay that way until kingdom comes. I have enough wisdom NOW that I know that I don't need the people I cross paths with to be good or be good TO me in order for me to be happy. There are people in this world, who have good and kind people around them, yet they STILL have no joy. Why? Because they have no inner peace. They choose to focus only on negative things and people instead of the positive. So you see, it's about what YOU decide to dwell on that will determine what level of joy you have and maintain. It's one thing to obtain it. It's another thing to MAINTAIN it. The peace I have is not by accident. Drama is something that I don't tolerate and anything that threatens my peace has to be removed or adjusted. I learned a while back that it doesn't matter what's going on in your life. Peace is maintainable and there is nothing on this earth more valuable than your peace of mind. I'd rather have peace than a man's approval, more money, false validation, materials, and power. Peace IS my power. The Bible doesn't tell us to pursue wealth. It says to pursue peace but by the look of things, you would assume that believers thought the opposite. That's why so many of them have no peace. Too busy pursuing wealth like the world; when truthfully, many who have wealth, have no peace. You're trying to get the money that the world has because you envy them (which God says not to do) and they secretly envy you because you are strong enough to serve the Lord and they're not. If you have no peace/contentment now, money won't matter because you'd still do what you always do, focus on negative things and people and covet the things you don't have. Wealth is not the definition of success. Peace is the definition if success. You're not successful if you have no peace. If that were the case, famous people would never take drugs and poor people would never sing praises to God. We are chasing the wrong thing. I've had no money at all. I've had more money than anyone in my family but through it all I maintained my peace. Peace is the real necessity. As you read this devotional, I want you to understand that peace is something that you have to take authority over and command. Peace is like a rebellious child. It wants to run away whenever you don't get your way but just like a parent has authority over their child, you have authority over your peace. You have to train your peace to "Be Still", despite your circumstances. Many people assume that once they "arrive" they will have no more troubles. Unfortunately, whatever level you arise to, there will be a new problem there. There will never be a time in your life where in which you will have no problems or outgrow the need for God. You will always need God to fix something in your life. This is the reason why it's important to master peace early on in your walk with Christ. However, I have not seen this issue being a priority in many believers' lives until much later on after they've matured and have gone through significant struggles. There are Biblical ways to create and maintain your peace in life and I hope that the scriptures I reference within this book, aids you in living the life of peace that our Father has called you to live.