Yesterday, my husband, Joe, was telling me about how he was helping our next-door neighbor with his lawn tractor problems. That may not sound like anything special to you, but to me, it was nothing short of a miracle. You see, when we moved here 30+ years ago, we began having serious problems with our neighbors as soon as we stopped allowing our sons to play with the neighborhood children. It hadn't taken us long to realize that many of the kids in our community were troublemakers, and that they were having a negative effect on our sons. As the neighborhood gang began targeting us, and doing serious damage to our home and property - and their parents took their side instead of ours - we took them to court. But that did no good at all because all of our neighbors refused to tell the truth. One night, we caught the kids red-handed doing damage to our house, and when the police arrived in response to our call, my husband did something amazing. He forgave the troublemakers and refused to file charges against them. The police warned my husband that he was making a big mistake, but since that night, we have lived here in peace. Today, we have a great relationship with the parents of those former troublemakers.

One of the promises of God that I was earnestly praying and standing on all those years of trouble and turmoil was Proverbs 16:7 (NASB): "When a person's ways are pleasing to the LORD, He causes even his enemies to make peace with him." Being angry with our neighbors - even though we had good reason to be - just made the situation worse. However, when we began doing things God's way - and following His promptings to forgive our neighbors - He literally caused our enemies to "make peace" with us. Suddenly, our enemies became our allies.

The Bible says: "People who work for peace in a peaceful way get the blessings that come from right living." (James 3:18 ERV) Working for peace is not easy. It's hard work, and it often involves us humbling ourselves before God and others. Scripture tells us: "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Romans 12:18 NIV) There are some people in this world that we will never get along with because they are just plain toxic, and they will do us more harm than good. But in many cases, it will be possible for us to get along with others as we "work for peace in peaceful ways."

Today, let us take to heart God's promise from the Message Bible, which says - "You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor." (James 3:18 MSG) Amen!

Prayer: Lord, work in my heart and make me the peacemaker You want me to be. Grant me a spirit of humility, and help me to do the hard work of getting along with others. Give me the discernment to recognize those who would do me more harm than good. Thank You that as I strive to please You in all my ways, You will turn my enemies into allies!