As I walked through the Christmas section of Hobby Lobby, many of the decorations declared a message of “peace, joy, and hope.” But then I looked around the store at the people and what I saw was mostly anxiety and frustration. The faces didn’t match the messages.
I understood this inconsistency all too well.
The promises of peace, joy, and hope that come solely from our culture are dependent upon whether our circumstances are good or bad; BUT the promises of peace, joy, and hope that come from GOD’s presence are unchanging DESPITE circumstances. To have a deep and abiding sense of God’s presence, we must FIRST receive His gift of salvation.
When we are born again, AND are seeking to live in loving obedience to Him—THEN the promises of His Word become ALIVE in us. This includes HIS peace, joy and hope. We can’t dam it up inside us—it pours out. The Bible says:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and REJOICE in HOPE of the glory of God.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Now hope does not disappoint, BECAUSE—the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:1-5 NKJV
Experiencing peace, joy, and hope—which is the promise of God for those who are born again—can be a CONSTANT in our life. We don’t carry the crushing and impossible burden of thinking we need to EARN our own salvation or produce our own joy, peace, or hope. WE have the assurance that we belong to God and that can NEVER change.
BUT—we do have the flesh which is one of our enemies—and it is in constant opposition to Christ who now dwells in our spirit.
When we are born again through Christ, this amazing grace we’ve received gives us great hope. Even in our worst suffering we can find glimmers of joy because we know NOTHING cannot take away our hope and our peace with God. Holy God is the giver of these three gifts—it is only the sinful tendencies of our flesh, the influence of the fallen culture of this world, and the devil—that deceive us into living without these amazing gifts from God.
As God’s children, we have a choice!
When we are given the gift of eternal life and we are intentionally growing closer to Christ and developing His character within us—nothing can rob us of our peace, joy, and hope. If we are STILL chomping at the bit to live in sin, it’s very likely because we have NOT experienced the extraordinary goodness of living in GOD’S way. When we experience the goodness of His presence, we no longer find any lasting satisfaction in the misery of sin. In HIM we find EVERYTHING GOOD that we’ve always desired.
Peace, joy, and hope are our Heavenly Father’s gifts of love—fully enjoyed by those who choose to live in loving obedience to Him.
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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4 Responses
Obedience is better than sacrifice.
Yes it is!
thanks be to God for that peace
Amen sister!