Peace and Joy

 “May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace

as you trust in him, so that you may overflow

with hope by the Holy Spirit”.

Romans 15:13

“Peace and joy go hand-in-hand.  If you are uneasy and stressed it is much harder to be truly happy.  More often than not, joy and contentment work together in our lives.  The truth is that many of us search for happiness, but we don’t often realize that peace is the major part of the puzzle.  Stress, worry, anxiety all have a way of trying to rob us of our joy.  But when we have peace...we can expect joy as well.”

• Peace and joy come from the same source. The Bible tells us that both joy and peace (along with many other blessings) come from the Holy Spirit. When we are abiding in Him and allowing Him to work in our lives, we can EXPECT fruit. They are naturally produced in our lives. That being said, I’m not sure we can experience true peace or joy separate from one another. After all, they are BOTH the result of abiding in Christ. We may experience moments of “peace” or “happiness” apart from the Holy Spirit. But in Him, we can expect to live in TRUE peace and joy…the kind that isn’t based on circumstances.

 

• When we live in God’s peace we experience His joy. This is something I’ve been personally working on in my own life. In my quest to find happiness, I often forget that abiding is God’s peace and rest is essential. Can you imagine no longer feeling worried or stressed? How much joy are we missing out on when we choose to focus on our circumstances rather than surrendering them to God?

 

• Faith and trust produce peace and happiness. We already know that abiding in Christ produces peace and joy in our lives. But what does that look like in practice? We choose to abide every time we make the conscious choice to trust God with our lives. When we are experiencing financial difficulty, we choose to trust that God will meet all of our needs. When we are suffering from a painful loss, we surrender our pain to our heavenly Father. And when we are worried about everyday circumstances or safety, we know that God is watching over us in every way.”
•  “When we choose to place our trust in our Heavenly Father, we can expect to experience His indescribable love.

                             

~ alyssajhoward.com