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Pre-marriage Counsel High priority

Wise couples who wish to enjoy a happy, fruitful married life, live up to their vows of “ until death do we part” and eliminating the risk of divorce, place high priority on pre-marriage counsel. Statistics reveal that those who participate in pre-marriage counsel, though they face the same challenges as other couples, are much more equipped to deal with challenges and therefore enjoy a better marriage and family life.

Failure to prepare for Marriage

Trying to cope with the challenges of training for and changing careers, competition of staying employed, keeping trim and fit, raising children, keeping up with the rapid changes in society in this post modern generation has made marriage very difficult. According to reliable statics about 50 % of first marriages end in separation or divorce. The risk becomes greater with each successive marriage, about 72% for second, and about 85% for third marriages.

People will spend tens of thousands of dollars and fifteen to twenty five years of their lives equipping themselves for a careers, but rarely invest any time or finances on preparing themselves for marriages which is intended to last for a lifetime. Failing to have adequate pre-marriage counsel can lead to painful divorce in just a few years after marriage.

Pre-marriage Counsel Vital

Can you imagine plunging into the deep without ever learning the dynamics of swimming… just hoping that you will figure it out after you take the plunge? The choice to take the dive unprepared will undoubtedly determine whether one sinks or swims.

Couples often enter marriage enjoying the passionate honeymoon phase, feeling this will last forever with little or no effort to keep the flame going. However after the honeymoon phase is over the reality season begins. This is the time when they have to take off their ballroom attire and put on the work boots and gloves and used the necessary tools to keep the garden of marriage flourishing and fruitful. Some realize that they are not equip to do the work and think that divorce is the solution.

By preparing for marriage through adequate pre-marriage counsel, couples invest in their marriage and thereby give themselves a better chance to have their dreams of marriage become reality. Studies show that pre-marriage counsel can reduce the potential for divorce by about 30%.

What is the process of Pre-marriage Counsel?

Our pre-marital counseling process begins with a comprehensive relationship questionnaire that is filled out online by each member of the couple. There are no right or wrong answers. The survey identifies with great precision based on information gathered the couple’s strengths and the areas for growth within their relationship. The questions probes areas such as communication skills, conflict resolution, family and friends, sex, child raising, finances, roles and responsibilities and spiritual beliefs. The data gathered is evaluated and presented in a detailed report utilizing easy-to-understand text and clear graphics.

There are typically one to five feed-back sessions depending on the areas identified for development. The knowledge and guidance received through our pre-marriage counsel/guidance will have great benefits for the couples and their family and help leave a remarkable legacy for generations to come.

There are super spiritual persons who claim that they have the secret of living trouble-free lives in this world. If that’s you, well God bless you and may you continue to do so. Jesus said in John 16:33 (MsgB) “…In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” It is better to accept God’s truth and let every man be a liar. Tribulations will come; God did not promise life on an easy street, but he has provided a way to overcome them. Living through or overcoming every challenge starts with prayers.

Many of you reading this article, like myself, may recall times from childhood to this present time in your life when tribulations came your way. You may have been rejected, deceived, disappointed, taken advantage of in some way or another. You may be suffering the consequences of your own bad decisions in life. We must keep in mind that we are imperfect people living in an imperfect world and amongst us is the author of destruction and the invisible promoter of every evil work.

Some of us have yet to learn that no matter how dark and difficult our circumstances are, we can live through and eventually rise and live above them by God’s grace. Our creator, and loving heavenly father, did not leave us to fend completely for ourselves. As the law of lift when applied will cause a huge heavy aircraft to break the laws of gravity, so is the effectiveness of spiritual laws when applied. They will change things seen and unseen, known and unknown. Prayer is the most powerful equipment that God has given us to travail and triumph over tribulations.

At times, things happen where the purpose of God can be revealed (John 9:3). Occasionally, it is used to purify us; it will burn sin and selfishness that lies within. Sometimes misery comes from Godly discipline incorporated into our life Hebrews2:11 “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it”. Hebrews 12:5–6 ) So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. ” It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. Sometimes we are caught in the enemy’s web; he will try to make us miserable and destroy us. Often the anguish, fair, sorrow, sadness, grief or pain we feel is Satan’s doing and no fault of our own or anyone else. Our comfort comes in knowing that God will help us through and out of the predicament as we humble ourselves and effectively pray, communicate with God for progressive wisdom, discipline and strength.

HOW TO PRAY THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES

Regardless what the reasons for our difficulties are, prayers will make a difference. Every day and every prayer is an opportunity to change our future. Though we may not see the results immediately, every drop of prayer definitely makes a difference. Christ’s life was fibred with prayer. Surely Jesus coped and conquered by prayer. And that’s the manner all Christians must.

1. We must pray for God’s wisdom

We are prone to use worldly wisdom at all levels in our walk daily. Leaders of large denominations, pastors in growing, leaders of great countries use worldly wisdom. James tells us what Godly wisdom is: James 3:14–17 (NIV) “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. [15] Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. [16] For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. [17] But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

2. Pray for the Spirit’s help

John 14:16-17 (NIV) “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– [17] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

The Spirit will also comfort, empower and teach us all things.

3. Pray for the mind of Christ

1 Cor. 2:16 (NIV) “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. Philip. 2:5 (NIV) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:1 Peter 4:1 (NIV) Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. God will give us the mind of Christ in every situation and we will overcome as he did.

3. Pray for a greater sense of God’s presence in the dilemma

Psalm 112:7 (NIV) He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Acknowledging the presence of God in a difficult situation will help us find rest and peace, knowing that he is cares, is willing, and helping us to get through the trouble.

4. Pray that you will stay in God’s will and be obedient in this difficult time

Luke 22:40–43 (KJV) And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. [41] And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, [42] Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. [43] And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”

Staying in God’s will in difficult times is a critical thing. We can miss the purpose of our entire life or it can be the window of the greatest opportunity. Don’t miss it, Jesus did not — let’s follow him.

5. Pray to see the good in the bad

It is vital to see the scenario from all angles. God will reveal everything we need to see that will help us through and encourage us.
Elisha’s servant found himself in what seemed to be immediate death and panicked. Elisha prayed, his eyes were opened and he saw what would be the outcome of the situation.
2 Kings 6:15–17 (KJV) And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? [16] And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. [17] And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

6. Pray that you will have Godly expectations only

Disappointments and sufferings are inevitable because life never consistently meets our expectations. We make mistakes expecting that people will not disappoint us and that we will have everything as promised or expected, but it never came through. Instead of things getting better, the venom of bitterness and unforgiveness comes in. Let us expect people to be people and God to be God. God will help us sustain disappointments.

7. Pray that God will help you forgive others

Often the greatest times of disappointment are when someone fails us. We get hurt deeply and find it hard to forgive. Many live life festering and weeping wounds, while the other parties are having a blast in life. Our joy and happiness must not depend on people and we need God’s help to forgive them. When we release and forgive our offenders, we are on our to recovery and wholeness in life.

8. Pray that God will help you accept His forgiveness and forgive yourself

Though the hardhearted feel no remorse when they fail others, many of us feel we have committed the unforgivable sin and keep living under tons of condemnation. When we cannot forgive others, we cannot accept God’s forgiveness and neither can we forgive ourselves. We must pray that we’re able to accept God’s forgiveness and forgive ourselves.

9. Pray that you will not be discouraged

Discouragement can flow in like a flood; we think we are standing strong and someone says something or we think the wrong things and we are washed away with waves of discouragement. Our difficult times will come to and end.
Remember what Paul Said in Philip. 4:13 (KJV) “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (MsgB) Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

Be reminded that God’s timing is not ours and he moves with great precision without delay. David said in Psalm 37:5–9 (GW) “Entrust your ways to the Lord, Trust him, and he will act {on your behalf}. [6] He will make your righteousness shine like a light, your just cause like the noonday sun. [7] Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Do not be preoccupied with {an evildoer} who succeeds in his way when he carries out his schemes. [8] Let go of anger, and leave rage behind. Do not be preoccupied. It only leads to evil. [9]Evildoers will be cut off {from their inheritance}, but those who wait with hope for the Lord will inherit the land.”

In 1 Samuel 30:6 we see that God says (KJV) “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” We must too.

Regardless of your present situation, know that God is at work in every circumstance in your life and it is for your own good. And that all things work together when we don’t know what we need today for when we pray in the Spirit. He wants us to trust him. Trust Him when we are weary; we will find strength. Trust Him when we have problems; we will find peace. Trust Him when we are empty; we will experience his fullness. Trust Him when we are sad; he will give us joy. Don’t be blinded by circumstances; there is a great future ahead for us so let us believe in His promises. Look to God instead of the circumstances. With man, few or many things are impossible, but with God all things are possible.

We are living in an imperfect world, alongside imperfect people. The foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink are all polluted.

The numerous world systems — capitalism, socialism, communism, democracy, apartheid, liberalism, humanism and others — are flawed. They help a little but do work against humanity as a whole.

Added to our disadvantage, the Bible declares there are evil invisible forces upon the earth led by Satan. He is referred to as “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). This means he initiated and is in control of the world systems.

One of the ways he comes to us is as “an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). He has been deceitfully destructive from the beginning of time and is the “father of lies” (John 8:44). He may use ninety-nine truths to float one of his lies. He is described as our “adversary” “roaring lion” seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

Lions are worldwide admirable celebrities. Thousands travel to national parks and zoos to admire this majestic creature yearly. In the parks in Africa, during the day tourists hunt them down with their cameras as they roam freely in the parks.

Yet these deadly cats by nature are potential man-eaters, though they lie unconcerned, and appear harmless under the trees during the day with their families as people pass them by. In the night they hunt, destroy, and devour the same men whom they ignored during the day.

Lions are the most disciplined and highly strategic hunters, and stick diligently to their rules, which has allowed them to survive millions of years. No wonder they were likened to man’s greatest enemy. (1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

Our young and innocent men and women are gunned down by street gangs fighting each other; our young women are raped, and pimps and drug dealers prowl our city seeking to befriend our young. 9-11 also tells us that we are living in a wilder, colder and dangerous world; we need to be more “sober and vigilant” in order to overcome them. A park ranger in Africa discovered that the victims of these night killers have violated at least one or all of the five rules of survival in the wilder world when killed.

We can draw a parallel of each of these five violations as rules of spiritual warfare.

RULE # 1: AVOID NIGHT TRAVEL

Lions are nocturnal hunters; it is at night that they are most sensitive and become most accurate and deadly in the pursuit of their prey. In the day most of them sleep duped with their fillings of the previous night. In Africa, the killing of people by lions is done mainly at night, especially the refuges who travel alone to escape being captured during the day.

Avoid spiritual darkness and stay in the light in all that you say and do. Go into only to try to save or help someone out, and be well prepared to defend yourself if attacked. Never enjoy any dark thing while there. Always remember…“God is light and in him there is no darkness” (I John 1:5B).

RULE # 2: NEVER TRAVEL ALONE

Travelling alone in the wilder world is equivalent to a death wish. It is the single opportunity that a lion exploits and attacks. Always prepare for warfare by enlisting true and experienced prayer warriors that are experienced in the areas of your battle.

In Proverbs 24:6 God says “for waging war you need Godly guidance, and for victory many advisers.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “ Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble”.

RULE # 3: ALWAYS TRAVEL WITH WEAPONS

Always travel with the best weapons available that you can afford. Remember David used a slingshot and God went along with the stone to destroy Goliath. God can give you victory also with the least you can afford.

One must fight offensively and defensively. We must put on “ the whole armour.”

Paul in Ephes. 6:10 “In conclusion, strengthen yourselves in the Lord and in the power which His supreme might imparts. 11 Put on the complete armour of God, so as to be able to stand firm against all the stratagems of the Devil.”

RULE # 4: NEVER EXPOSE YOUR WEAKNESS

The wise saying of the old is “never let them see you sweat.” Interpreted appropriately, it means never show your weaknesses to your enemies. Spiritually, this means that we confront or face our enemies in faith of what God will do for us. Trying to face this spiritual world with our own strength is fighting a losing battle. The world and the God of this world is too powerful for us alone. Our greatest strength is the power of the Spirit of God through Christ our Lord and deliverer.

Psalm 27:1–3 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.”

RULE # 5: NEVER RUN AWAY IN FEAR

Lions nearly always become defensive, and sometimes when confronted. Predators are always confused with confrontational behaviour with their victims. It causes them to check their aggressive assault even at the last possible moment, giving the possible victim a moment of opportunity.

We must never run from challenges in fair (Prov. 25:26), though avoiding in advance when a fight is risky (Proverbs 27:12 ) A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

We must confront evil treats in the power of the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 1:5-10 “ God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole. I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation. The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing.

INCORPORATION OF DISCIPLINES

1. Seeing Clearly: As helpers we must not always spiritualize everything. Jesus was never more frustrated but with people like these (Matt 23:1–6), fighting demons that don’t even exist or are not even around in many situations when the people they minister to need medicine or treatment of a different kind. On the other side, there are those who can only see the cause from the natural side and never see the effects from a spiritual or psychological dimension. They never acknowledge the war in the invisible world. An effective helper will expose the needy to spiritual and natural agents of healing together with the right mix to bring healing.

2. From Defeat to Survival: In many situations, survival is a great gain and far better than living in bondage of anger, addiction, and sinful behavior and dividends thereof. Sharing in these victories gives great satisfaction and fulfillment as helpers.

3. From Survival to Surfing. Believing Christians will not settle for just survival, they will rise up and press towards what God has promised and prepared for them. They will settle for nothing less than the winning warrior. They will live and die for the purpose of freedom. Though the cost is high, they will spend their time and money in the personal choice of freedom. In this God rejoices.

4. The Choice of Discipline: This is where we come face to face with the personal choice of discipline. In other words, this is where the rubber hits the road. Will I humble myself to the disciplines of God’s will for my daily pursuit in life; will I cease to pleasure myself in “works of the flesh” or will I allow death to come to it daily by the power of God’s spirit and other agents of help? Will you go all the way for wholeness? If you chose to embrace gods will, the reward is a life of fruitfulness in all dimensions as God intended.

There are seven vital keys to be applied in Christian counselling to in order to facilitate, healing, reconciliation and restoration. They are biblical and universal. Surveys reveal that the success rate of Christian counselling is remains at a high level of 85 percent. In order to maintain or increase this level of fruitfulness, these factors must be incorporated in every practice.

Suppose you were building a concrete driveway. You would have to use components like sand, cement, water and crushed stones of variable portions. If you omit one of these, even if the others were more abundant, you will have a faulty driveway, which soon will sink or crack. With this in mind, here are several key ingredients that must be present in the process of therapy and counsel.

1. GOD

The first key is God. He is the source of all that pertains to life. He heals the broken hearted and binds up wounds; He has great power and knows all things. He created us and knows how to fix our brokenness and relationships when we find our tangle in a predicament (Psalm 147:3–5). As counsellors, our roles are twofold. First, we ourselves look to God for the help, wisdom and resources needed. We humbly ask for those things we don’t possess to help His hurting children. Second, we also point those we are helping to look to the Source and help them get God in the broken areas of their lives. Our loving heavenly Father helps the helpee and the helper. He will find a way even where there seems to be no way in every predicament and make all things work together for good. (Isa. 43:19,Rom 8:28)

2. RELATIONSHIP

Healing, growth and change requires healthy environments for relationships to flourish. God designed the process of growth and healing to include the presence of acceptance, love, support and encouragement of other people. We were not meant to go through hurts, brokenness and injuries of sin alone. We need God and His people. Individual and marriage counsel, therapy, small groups, healthy connections and healthy churches are some of what God uses to bring about wholeness and healing.

3. TRUTH

Truth plays a vital role in the restoration process. It is simply defined as what is, or what exists, in reality. Truth is light and does much in bringing people out of the darkness of depression, addictions, relationships struggles and character issues. Jesus said “…you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” When Jesus prayed he asked, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Through the Bible, God teaches that the absolute standard of truth comes from His word and the person of Jesus Christ.

4. PLAN OR PATH

In our field we refer to a treatment plan. The bible simply uses the word path (Proverbs 15:24). The path of life for a wise person leads upward in order to turn him away from hell below. The path to healing and wholeness is a step-by-step process. God can do miracles where things happen immediately, but with purpose He chooses to use the process of healing.

5. OWNERSHIP

Success in counsel depends largely on ownership in the process. God’s treatment and design consist of a division of labour. He does His part. The counsellor also does his or her part and the counsellee does his or her part. God never fails to do 100 percent of His, and counsellor and counsellee must give 100 percent as well.

6. FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness heals and reconciles personally and relationally; it plays a major part in all area of life. Forgiveness opens the door of grace for the right relationship, both vertically and horizontally. Jesus said in Matt. 6:14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-1514 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. Proud, arrogant or inconsiderate, people do not want to forgive. But humble and wise people do. The scriptures declares in James 4:6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”. Paul in Ephes. 4:32 declares “ Be kind to each other, sympathetic, forgiving each other as God has forgiven you through Christ.”

7. TIME

Healing, reconciliation and restoration are processes and it that takes time. They are is not immediate or instant. There are seasons and stages of within which fruitfulness comes . Time cannot be skipped but however minimized based the grace of God and the hearts of those involved. God’s process of wholeness and sanctification is progressive. Jesus said, in Mark 4: 26-28 “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground [27]. He sleeps at night and is awake during the day. The seeds sprout and grow, although the man doesn’t know how [28]. The ground produces grain by itself. First the green blade appears, then the head, then the head full of grain.”

Conflict has been in every normal relation since the beginning of time and has been a common issue with which to deal. It has been experienced in intra-personal and interpersonal relationships. Intra-personal conflict can be noticeable by double mindedness, resulting engaging oneself in the things one does not want to do, not doing the things that should be done or should do. It has an effect on our interpersonal relationships. It’s observable dating, marriages, in immediate families, extended families, occupational environment, among religious groups, cultures, and nations and can affect generations that follow if not dealt effectively.

Conflict started in the Garden of Eden, where God made us in his image and as free moral beings. God foreknew that conflict would be a challenge. For this reason he laid guidelines by which we can live, resolve conflicts and eventually live peacefully with Him, ourselves and others. Our creator established protocols in the bible by which any nature of conflict that emerges can be resolve.

When man exercised his freedom of choice, ignoring God’s guidelines for life, conflict was born. The trend continued ever since the fall. We have read about it with Adam and Eve, Cane and Abel, with Noah and the people of his age, and the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot. In the New Testament we see conflict with Jesus Christ (The Prince of Peace) and the Jewish religious legalistic leaders. It escalated to the point of them maliciously with selfish motives orchestrated his crucificition. Following we see conflict in the church, when the apostle Paul addressed the issues of disunity, slander, gossip, quarreling, outbursts of anger etc.

We were created for authentic relationships of diverse natures. First our relationship with God, following by with our relationship with spouses, children, extended families, neighbors, employers and employees and society as a whole. However when we come together as human beings with the freedom to think and do whatever pleases us, without considering God guidelines for harmony in any situation, we find ourselves in conflicts. This may occurs due to our selfishness, independence, pride and arrogance of lack of knowledge on how to deal with the issues, or unwillingness to humble ourselves and yield our behavior to our creators will.

Conflicts are opportunities to maturity. It is an opportunity to grow and develop, in wisdom, compatibility and have the grace and ability to engage increasingly peacefully fruitful relationships. When miss managed it escalates the scenario and increases contention encourages separation, division, and divorce in families and eventually hostilities and wars which can extend for generations.

Meaningful conflict resolution starts and ends with Jesus Christ. He is the Prince of Peace and when he exited he left that peace with us in seed form. After He left He sent the Holy Spirit to help us work it out from within. His resolutionary principles can be found from Genesis to Revelation. Conflicts are not resolved automatically and cannot be swept under the rug or as some people say “let sleeping dogs lie”. Diligent deliberations, dialogues and negotiations with the help of The Holy Spirit and biblical principles are the means by which all conflicts can be resolved.

People with bible based belief system may find it easier to resolve conflicts, especially those who “born again” believers. This is possible because they have we have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. The measure by which we hear and obey will be the measure by which we will experience the resolve of conflicts. Still carnal immature Christians can have greater difficulty; while mature Spirit filled Christians find it easier to experience peace.

A great part of the Jesus Sermon On The Mount in the New Testament deals with conflict resolution. The apostle Paul was in conflict with Christ and Christians, but after being born again on the Damascus road, he continued the ministry of Christ and cautioned of against being quarrelsome, encouraged to live in harmony, to demonstrate love, to forgive and have compassion, be kind and hearted with tender-hearted actions. Paul continued on not to render evil for evil and mentioned in Philippians 4:9 “Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies”.

James talked about watching you words and how destructive the can be. (James 3:4-6). Jesus and his disciples encouraged peace by their words and example.
God through the prophet Isaiah prophesied Isaiah 11:6 saying “the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them”. Until this prophesy is fulfilled, we are to deal with conflict always depending on God for His help, applying His wisdom, love, concern, sensitivity, self awareness, patience and constructive compromise.