Peace, Joy, and Love

God never promised that the Christian life would be easy. But He did promise that He would never forsake us, and that His grace would always be sufficient for our needs. In His presence, we can have peace and joy, no matter what the circumstances around us. And love is part of our Christian calling.

So why doesn't it all happen automatically?

My purpose is not to go too deeply into the theology of it, but Christian discipleship is a learning process, and a growth. We are not saved by our works, but neither can we expect to be a fruitful, victorious, soldier of Christ without some effort on our part.

We are responsible to:

• Sow good seeds. You'll never get a bumper crop of sweet corn by diligently cultivating crab grass. Likewise, you cannot cultivate love, joy, and peace by investing yourself in gossip, complaining, and controversy. The words you read, listen to, and speak are all seeds. The things you put time and money into are seeds. Good things may come of them, or bad things--useful things, or nothing at all. You are responsible to make wise decisions.
• Repent of sin. If you have done something wrong, don't try to excuse it or justify yourself. It is natural to try to "save face," but in the end, that will gain you nothing. As long as you use the excuse that you can't help it, you will never be able to change. Nor will you ever change while rationalizing unrighteousness. Admit to God that you were wrong. Ask Him to forgive you. Then make up your mind that there is a better way, and look to God for grace to follow it.
• Forgive others. Nothing anybody has ever done to you will ever be fixed by holding a grudge, placing blame, or seeking revenge. What any other person owes you is nothing compared to what you owe God. Remember how freely God has forgiven you, and look to Him to heal the hurts and right the wrongs. Then choose to forget the past and move forward with a clean slate.
• Put faith into practice. God wants you to demonstrate that you believe what He tells you. Study the Scriptures to learn of all the powerful things God has done and has promised to do for you. Tell Him your desires and ask Him to supply your needs. Be ready to follow His directions even when they seem foolish. You can never fully partake of God's awesome power and wisdom if you constantly behave as if you believe you are stronger and wiser than He is.
• Be a light in the darkness. Light, by nature, does not "fit in" with darkness. It does not imitate darkness. It is starkly different from darkness, and does not apologize for being different. The Bible tells us that the world is a place of darkness and that Jesus is the true light. Learn from the example of Jesus, not from the examples of the world. Then put into practice the ways of light.
• Stand in battle against the power of the devil. We can do this through prayer, through spreading the Gospel to the lost, through encouraging other believers, through refusing to partake in any form of deception, through practicing justice in our own lives, and so on. Look for opportunities to overcome the work of the devil--don't wait for him to attack you first. In order not to be overcome of evil, we must overcome evil with good. (This is essentially the active part of being light in darkness.)
• Be merciless on the flesh. The flesh will not want to do and be all these things. The flesh always wants the easy way. It wants to be comfortable and at ease. It wants to put itself first. It looks for happiness in self-gratification, self-justificaton, and self-reliance. The flesh has no interest in spiritual things, for it cannot perceive them. The good news is, the child of God does not have to listen to the flesh. The lie is that the more we say No to the flesh and Yes to God, the more miserable we will be. In fact, the more we reject the claims of the flesh and follow the call of the spirit, the more true happiness we will find.

If we can put these things into practice regularly--and I do not say we can do it without God's grace--we can experience peace, joy, and love no matter what is going on in the world around us.

By the way, this isn't what I originally had in mind to share. I was going to tell about the blessed meeting we had Sunday, the way God spoke to us through the worship, testimonies, and Word, and throw in an inspiring quote from a book I've been reading. But I started with the title, then wrote the opening paragraph, and suddenly found myself launching off with a totally different approach. No doubt I could add to this list, but I think I have written enough for now. If these points do not mean anything to anyone else, at least they have reminded and convicted me of some very important basics that I must not neglect!