Today, very few people experience a sense of peace regarding their finances — or, for that matter, regarding any part of their lives.

Many believe that moments void of anxiety and stress are “peace,” but in some cases these are nothing more than moments of numbness.

True peace stays with us.

True peace doesn’t mask pain or hide symptoms.

It gives us strength and power to endure.

True peace comes from God and a relationship with His Son.

True peace is realized in the balance of being 100 percent spiritual and 100 percent physical.

Related: God’s Promise in the Midst of Challenge: He Is with Us Always

I believe the main reason we are unable to achieve a continual state of peace today is because we’ve been indoctrinated to accept numbness for joy and the absence of anxiety for peace.

It is like a carnival maze when the floor tilts to and fro as you proceed from room to room — until you enter a room where it seems that water runs uphill.

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Your senses may tell you that you’re standing upright on level ground, but in reality, you are tilted. You’re standing on an inclined plane and your perspective is totally skewed. You have been deceived to believe you are standing on firm ground.

Now imagine a similar situation. But instead of a carnival, it is called life, and instead of a moment, it’s years upon years of being tilted back and forth — only now it’s about how you view money, how you view the family, how you view sex, how you view even God.

We may enter a room in the timeline of our lives where things seem balanced in this skewed environment — and we call this moment peace.

But the reality is far from it. We may be less tilted — but tilted just the same.

So how do we plumb our lives in this topsy-turvy world?

We need the tools and a reference point to do this, just as a carpenter would.

We need to use the tools — such as His guidance from the Bible, prayer, and fellowship with spiritually wise and mature believers.

When beginning to build, the first thing a carpenter does is set a reference point.

He doesn’t rely on the terrain to be level or a pre-existing wall to be plumb. He establishes a reference using a plumb line and a level.

We need to use the skills of the perfect carpenter, Jesus Christ, who has established a true reference point of balance for life.

We need to use the tools — such as His guidance from the Bible, prayer, and fellowship with spiritually wise and mature believers — that He has given us to gauge the levelness of our lives in relation to the pure and perfect reference point.

And that point is God.

Mark Minnella is president and co-founder of the National Association of Christian Financial Consultants (NACFC). He designed the first faith-based professional designation program, Christian Financial Consultant and Advisor, in the industry. He has extensive background as a leader in the faith-based investment movement and is founder of Integrity Investors, LLC. Minnella has been the host of the “More Than Money” radio program for over 18 years and is the author of “The Wall Street Awakening.”

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