If you become angry, or vengeful, or bitter, or filled with self-pity, or begin to try to manipulate or force people or circumstances, or live in worry or fear, or fix blame on people, or attempt to justify yourself, you begin to lose your peace, your joy, your love, your faith. Don't forget that you have spiritual enemies and they will seek to use your pains and pressures to draw you into sin.

The experienced saint becomes aware instantly that death is attempting to overcome his rest in God. He or she goes to prayer. He prays until his peace and joy return. He may or may not take some action or try to fix things up or make restitution. But the all-important thing is he prays until his carnal nature is subdued and the peaceful Presence of the Lord returns.

Now, if he does not pray in this manner but acts out his discomfiture in some unseemly manner, his adamic nature remains alive. He loses that place of peace and rest in God's will.

He tries to kick down doors that lead only to empty rooms. He is too busy to notice that another door is ajar, ready to be explored.

Brother Dowell used to say, "If you can't get God to go your way, why don't you try going God's way?

He is saving his adamic life but he is losing the eternal Life of Christ.

If instead of yielding to his natural impulses he prays until the anger or fear or lust subside, a part of his carnal, adamic nature will die and in its place will come the Life of Christ.

This is the true Christian experience: death, and life; death, and life; death, and life.

How about you, right now? Are you living in perfect peace in Christ or are you upsetùchewing about something? You have been commanded to not fret yourself concerning evildoers. You have been commanded to let the peace of God rule in your heart.

If you keep on allowing your earthly nature to express its lack of confidence in God you are going to end up sinning.

Do this. At the first opportunity get alone with God and tell Him all about what is troubling you. Cover every detail. Do not leave anything out. Ask His help in solving it. Pray for wisdom but do not tell God how to solve your problems. You may be resisted spiritually but keep at it. Keep at it until you feel the peace of God in your heart and mind. Then praise the Lord for the answer.

If five minutes later the dread, or lust, or anxiety, or anger return, go back to God. Stay at it until you get perfect, complete victory. Settle for nothing less.

You will be amazed at how your problems are solved one by one. I cannot say how long it will take you to get perfect peace and keep it but I do know that this is the rest of God. This is eternal life. This is the Kingdom and this is how you enter it.

Don't get discouraged. Don't give up. You will achieve perfect peace. The peace is dynamic, however. There will be new battles tomorrow and the next day and the next. But now you know how to stay in Christ, in the rest of God.

To be continued.