"Peace and Joy"

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17 ESV)

The Lord is peace. It is a pretty simple principle. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the peace of God is written about over and over. It is because there is no true peace in this world. Especially now, when vacations are interrupted, sleep is interrupted, and our lives are constantly interrupted.

The peace of Christ cannot be interrupted because it is not of this world. However, if we focus on the world, we push away the peace of Christ away. In our salvation, our righteousness, as Paul put it, we are filled with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in us who are saved in Christ, and knowing we are children of God, and that we will live forever with Christ in heaven is the reason our joy is never-ending.

Paul wrote in Galatians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” (5:22). The fruit of the Spirit is the free benefit of the Spirit, the result of His indwelling. Without the Spirit living in us, we are essentially alone in our existence. Oh sure, we have family, friends, and so on. But in the dark of the night, in the quiet of the storm of life, we are alone. When we accept Christ, we are never alone, no matter the circumstances.

In our troubles, if we give our burdens to Christ, the grace and peace of the Lord cover us like a gentle wave. Jesus is also our anchor in the storm, our rock to cling to when wave after wave of trials and temptations hit us. Spurgeon said, “The wave of temptation may even wash you higher up upon the Rock of Ages, so that you cling to it with a firmer grip than you have ever done before, and so again where sin abounds, grace will much more abound”1 What a great thought: when Christ lives in us, our trials and temptations wash us higher and higher on the rock that is Christ.

This peace and grace are all provided we know Christ as our Savior. We cannot save ourselves from our sins; we cannot get or give ourselves true peace; and in our deepest troubles, without Christ as our rock, the waves of this life will sweep us away in the tempest.

So, I ask you, my friend: do you know Christ as your Savior? If your answer is no, God brought you to the ministry for a reason; He is calling you. Give up this worldly life and seek Christ as your Savior. Like the old bumper sticker said, “No Christ, No Peace; Know Christ, Know Peace.” Best sticker ever made because it is true. Seek Him today, for tomorrow may not come.

May the grace and peace of Christ be with you.

1  C.H. Spurgeon, Sermon: Sin and Grace, Metropolitan Tabernacle, 1874.