Promised Peace and Joy

December 6, 2017

Lord,

The Christmas season is so full of selfishness. It is all about what we are getting when it should be about what we are giving. Help me to know exactly what it is You want me to do this Advent season. Where do you want me, Lord? Fling wide open the doors that I need to walk through and then give me the strength to immediately obey. Even if what You call me to is different or even out of my comfort zone. Send people in my path that need a touch of Your love and joy and help me to be an instrument in that process.

Remind me to look up and around at the awesome world You have created. Show off Your splendor to remind me You are truly God. Reveal who You are through the world I can see, Lord. Your majesty and Your strength. Your mercy and Your depth.

Amen

One of the things that I forget being a follower of Christ for so many years is that the Christmas season does not hold the same depth as it does for the typical person walking down the street. Christmas is one of the few holidays that is for Christians. No other time will people tolerate songs about Christ than this time of year. I have stated before that our houses should be the brightest and we should be the ones singing the loudest. This is our time of year to shine.

I love this time of year because I can truly focus on the coming of Jesus Christ. Not that I cannot do that the other times of the year but there is something about Christmas. It is special. Sacred.

I tend to forget that “Christmas does not bring peace to all,” as John Piper says. He pointed out in his devotional this morning that the angels brought a proclamation of peace to the world but there was a condition attached with the peace.

⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:14

The King James Version is slightly different saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” I actually looked up the verse in the Matthew Henry commentary and here is what he said. “It is on earth peace, to men of good-will (so some copies read it), en anthroµpois eudokias; to men who have a good-will to God, and are willing to be reconciled; or to men whom God has a good-will to, though vessels of his mercy.”

So, the question needs to be asked, how do we please God or become men of good-will? I think that the first requirement is that we must be followers of Jesus Christ. A decision for Christ needs to have been made our life. Hebrews 11:6 says,

⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

That is pretty straightforward, isn’t it? The first step is believing and following Jesus Christ as Savior.

You cannot know the peace of God without knowing God first. And not just know Him but trust Him and His goodness. Knowing that His promises are true and that He will always keep them. That does not mean that you said a prayer at Vacation Bible School when you were 4 but as an adult God does not control every aspect of your life. You do not walk with Him in a personal relationship with Him. There is a big difference between someone who believes Jesus and someone who is a disciple and follower of Christ.

¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

James 2:19

There is plenty of historical evidence that Jesus Christ was a real person who walked the earth. Even atheists cannot deny that he existed. A true follower of Jesus is one who walks with Him on a day to day basis. Someone who prays to Him and reads about Him in the Word of God. Someone who holds Jesus as the example and tries to be more like Him every day. Someone who believes that He is the Son of God, part of the trinity. Someone who believes that he came to earth as a baby and died and then rose again because He knew that it was the only way to save us wretched sinners. He was the perfect Passover lamb needed as payment for my sin and the sins of the world. Someone who tries to share this good news to those around them.

It does not look like someone who goes to church on Sunday to check it off their to do list and never thinks about Jesus until the next Sunday. It does not look like someone who acts one way in church or around Christians but when they are not around that influence looks exactly like the world.

There needs to be a difference in the Christian’s life. We should not look anything remotely like the world. They should see us and know that we are different. That there is something in us that they do not have. They should want what we have because we are happy and joyful and have a servant’s heart.

That is someone who has the peace of God. God gives us this peace because He is pleased with us. The promise the angels said on the night of Jesus’ birth is for us.

When we do receive the peace of God, it is God who gets all the glory. We become people who are joyful and loving and peaceful. Even in the midst of great trial and temptation. We have the promise of God’s peace and we need to stand firm in that promise.

Another thing I read this morning was from Ann Voskamp. She said, “All fear is but the notion that God’s love ends.” What a statement! We can stand on God’s promises that He loves us and gives us peace even when the world around us is falling apart.

I remember being in the hospital bed before I had the procedure after Asa died. I was so heartbroken and depressed and a little angry. But God never left me. I had to stand firm on the promise that everything God has ever brought or will bring in my life is for my good and His glory. As I began to recount God’s promises, an amazing thing happened. I began to feel this amazing peace come over me. It was supernatural. I have never felt anything like that before.

The devotional this morning was about Sarah and her laughter after Isaac was born. Ann Voskamp says, “In the press of the dark world, laughter comes to the Sarahs and sufferers and the stressed as the reliever and then the reminder – that ache is not the last word for those who believe in God. Jesus is. Jesus is the last word, and we rejoice and rejoice again and re-joy again because grace is our oxygen now.”

Oh, what a promise. In the midst of our pain and trials and temptations Jesus is our peace and joy. What a great reminder this Advent season. With the peace that is promised to us comes the JOY and laughter. We will never have true JOY unless we find it in Jesus Christ. That is our secret weapon. JOY and laughter. It is our gift from God. Ann Voskamp calls it “oxygenated grace.”

On this journey to JOY that I have been on the one true constant has been and will always be Jesus Christ. This Advent season I want to spend as much time as I can with Him. I want to delve deep into who He is. The more time I spend with Him, the more that desire to get close to grows. I find myself craving more of Him and that is the way it should be. We should have such a desire to be with Him and to serve Him and to bring Him glory.

This Advent Season I encourage you all to spend as much time with Jesus as you can. Truly prepare you heart to celebrate His coming. Look around you and rediscover who He is. Laugh and spread JOY. Spread that gift of JOY and peace to others. Especially those who do not have God’s peace in their lives yet. This time of year is the perfect time for us to be able to tell them about our amazing Savior.

I entitled this picture laughter and joy. I love the expressions on our faces. True joy with some of my favorite people.