Choosing Peace Devotionals

By Traci Keck

Choosing peace sounds nice, doesn't it?

You may be wondering, where can I possibly start? Here in this book, you will find your way.

A path to humor and hope. A journey through challenges and balance. A feeling of love and joy. And in our sometimes "less than peaceful world," you will find peace if you choose peace.

Peace will come in all sizes. Some of you are looking for world peace--love that choice. Some of you just want a little peace of mind, a little peace with yourself. Wherever you are in your journey, you can bring about peace one day, one step, one choice at a time.

Peace will always be the more difficult choice, but that's what God has called us to do. God calls us to peace on many levels: peace with ourselves, our family, our neighbors, our community, and yes, even peace in our world. Where will you start? Are you ready to choose?

So let's strive for the things that bring peace and the things that build each other up.

--Romans 14:19 (CEB)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9781685263935

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

About the Author

Choosing Peace Devotionals

Traci Keck

ISBN 978-1-68526-392-8 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68526-393-5 (Digital)

Copyright © 2023 Traci Keck

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Saturday and Sunday

Let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it.

—1 Peter 3:11

Choosing peace—where do we start you may be wondering.

Choosing is to pursue—and finding or making peace will not always be easy. We may have to search, face conflict, be uncomfortable with choices; that's the natural path. However, turning from negative inclinations to do good and make peace happen is more difficult.

Peace is a stress-free state, secure, calm—no fighting or war. Everyone coexists in perfect harmony and freedom. Are you still "choosing peace"? Peace can be small or big, seen in brief moments or entire countries.

What is peace to you? Reflect for a moment on the magnitude of your choice. When I was much younger, I wanted world peace so badly. I lived it, breathed it. I wore it on my shirts, wrote it on my books, journals, etc. Those who knew me knew what I was choosing.

Then I started experiencing life and lost that passion for world peace. I got caught up in the reality of what a monumental feat that would be for me by myself. I didn't shout it to the world around me because they would think it was ridiculous. Now, as I experience life more, I know I still want world peace. I want to love my neighbor, not fear for our children, get along, accept everyone for the beautiful soul that they are. How do I choose that?

I realize now that if I start with a moment of peace and if you start with a moment of peace, we can start making peace a beautiful reality. I encourage you this weekend to write down where you want to choose peace. Maybe love yourself for a minute and know it's okay. Maybe be kind to a stranger. Maybe let someone know you accept them unconditionally. Maybe pray for those that are hard to coexist with.

Peace will always be the more difficult choice, but that's what God has called us to do. That is the path for all of us—family, brothers, sisters, and strangers. Maybe I should choose peace on a smaller scale initially—peace with myself, my family, my neighbors, my community.

Where should you start?

Monday

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

—Proverbs 3:5–6

Do you feel sometimes like you took a wrong turn? Maybe took the long way around something? How in the heck did I get to this point in my life? Me too.

I have taken paths I shouldn't have and always ended up okay. I have made choices that were probably not the right ones and always ended up okay. There are times in our lives where we look back and think about how different life would be if only we had done something another way.

Take a moment today and reflect on something in your life that you feel may have set you back. When you have that experience in your mind, let go of any frustration and disappointment that is attached to it. Instead, think of the good that came from that wrong turn. What did you learn from it? Who might be in your life because of it? How did it make you grow?

Trust in God that he is making your route easier than it would be if you took it alone. Trust yourself that there is a reason even if you don't know what it is yet. Sometimes taking the crooked, curvy, winding path is the best route. God gives us opportunities to experience life in many ways. We get to choose the paths we want to take. I truly believe God has a path for me, and I see purpose from the wrong paths. I wasn't alone and always ended up okay.

Tuesday

May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!

—Psalm 29:11

Struggle is good! I want to fly!

Once a little boy was playing outdoors and found a fascinating caterpillar. He carefully picked it up and took it home to show his mother. He asked his mother if he could keep it, and she said he could if he would take good care of it.

The little boy got a large jar from his mother and put plants to eat and a stick to climb on in the jar. Every day he watched the caterpillar and brought it new plants to eat.

One day, the caterpillar climbed up the stick and started acting strangely. The boy worriedly called his mother, who came and understood that the caterpillar was creating a cocoon. The mother explained to the boy how the caterpillar was going to go through a metamorphosis and become a butterfly.

The little boy was thrilled to hear about the changes his caterpillar would go through. He watched every day, waiting for the butterfly to emerge. One day it happened—a small hole appeared in the cocoon, and the butterfly started to struggle to come out.

At first the boy was excited, but soon he became concerned. The butterfly was struggling so hard to get out! It looked like it couldn't break free! It looked desperate! It looked like it was making no progress!

The boy was so concerned he decided to help. He ran to get scissors and then walked back (because he had learned not to run with scissors). He snipped the cocoon to make the hole bigger, and the butterfly quickly emerged!

As the butterfly came out, the boy was surprised. It had a swollen body and small shriveled wings. He continued to watch the butterfly expecting that at any moment the wings would dry out, enlarge, and expand to support the swollen body. He knew that in time the body would shrink and the butterfly's wings would expand.

But neither happened! The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

As the boy tried to figure out what had gone wrong, his mother took him to talk to a scientist from a local college. He learned that the butterfly was supposed to struggle. In fact, the butterfly's struggle to push its way through the tiny opening of the cocoon pushes the fluid out of its body and into its wings. Without the struggle, the butterfly would never, ever fly. The boy's good intentions hurt the butterfly.

This story has been around for a long time. It's been used in schools to encourage kids to keep working toward their goals, used for athletes, for everyone. It is an example of that sometimes God allows struggles in our lives to help us reach our true potential.

Our struggles in life help us to develop our strengths. Without struggles, we never grow and get stronger, so it's important for us to tackle challenges. As you go through life, keep in mind that struggling is an important part of any growth experience. In fact, it is the struggle that causes you to develop your ability to fly.

Wednesday

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

—1 John 3:18

Did you grow up volunteering for things? With your family, your church, your