Joy And Peace by Kim Reisman

Scripture Focus:

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp, and the melody of a lyre. You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. O Lord, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts. Only a simpleton would not know, and only a fool would not understand this: Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever. But you, O Lord, will be exalted forever.

Psalm 92:1-8 (NLT)

Last month we focused our attention on joy, one of the fruits of the Spirit. This month we turn to peace. As we do this, we must remember that the fruit of the Spirit aren’t isolated from each other; they overlap in meaning and expression. Some have special connections. That’s the way it is with joy and peace – they go together. Neither is dependent on circumstance. Both are by-products of obedience.

Just as joy is dependent on abiding in Christ’s love, so peace is dependent on keeping our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 says, “you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Just as the source of our joy is the fact of our salvation and the confidence that all our needs will be met, it’s the same with our peace.

In his now classic book, How to Live the Christian Life, Selwyn Hughes told of a preacher friend’s encounter with the receptionist at a doctor’s office. During the preacher’s appointment with the doctor, he invited the receptionist to visit his church. He was stunned at her response. She said that when she saw so many of his church members waiting for their weekly supply of sedatives at the doctor’s office on Monday morning, she really wondered what the church had to offer.

There were tears in the minister’s eyes as he told Hughes the story, concluding, “It hurt so much because it was true.” Reflecting on that experience, Hughes wrote:

If as Christians we claim to have abundant life, how does it happen that so many of us give so little evidence that this life is superior? We say that God is our Father and is quietly arranging all things to work to our good, yet we fly into a panic at the first approach of trouble. We claim Christ is Lord of our lives, yet when someone tramples on our rights we show by our actions who is really in command. We talk piously about peace, but when tragedy strikes, our peace goes into pieces. We preach forgiveness, but let someone injure us and see what happens. [1]

Hughes wrote those words decades ago and so much in our world has changed since then. But it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The gap must be closed – the gap between what we profess and how we live. Peace is the result of our acceptance of God’s forgiveness in our lives. If that’s true – and I absolutely believe it is – then we must keep that awareness alive, and we must practice forgiveness in all our relationships.

A friend of mine told me about a misunderstanding she had with her sister over the matter of a disputed family will. The misunderstanding led to bitter estrangement between the two. She confessed that her resentment darkened through the passing years and something beautiful died within her. She wasn’t only hurting her sister; she was injuring herself. Then on a Sunday, words of Scripture in the worship liturgy took hold of her mind and heart: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).

That afternoon she wrote a letter to her sister, a letter that breathed love, forgiveness, and reconciliation. She said, “When I dropped that letter into the mailbox, it was like a thousand ‘alleluias’ singing inside me. The world was beautiful again and I felt alive for the first time in years.”

Peace and joy!

As you pray and fast, bring to your mind the most peace-filled person you know. As you know and have observed this person, what is the source of their peace? Thinking of your own life in relation to this person, what is missing from your life that perhaps is robbing you of peace? I’m praying that you will experience God’s peace, which is greater than you can ever imagine. And I’m praying as well, that His peace would guard your heart and mind as you live in Christ Jesus.

[1] Selwyn Hughes, How to live the Christian Life (New York: Seabury Press, 1982), pp14-15.