The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Joy and Peace… In Believing"
"God Himself constitutes the essence of joy and the reality of peace. By believing with our hearts, we affirm these gifts of His grace not merely in terms of the kindness of His hand, but rather in the presence of His Person."
"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).
Note that the Apostle Paul does not pray for God's filling in terms of feeling, but "in believing."
"The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17).
Faith far more involves conviction than emotion. Certainly, born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have our experiences of trusting God that lead to happy and pleasant feelings. We rejoice in those, realizing that, "Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in His ways. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee" (Psalm 128:1-2). However, we also recognize that our Lord's joy and peace in our present life must often be known amid challenge, pain, and difficulty - "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (II Corinthians 6:10). This suggests joy and peace to be something far more than how we feel, something deep in the spirit that will lead us when the sensibilities of our souls grieve and fret rather than enjoy and rest.
That "something" is Christ Himself, dwelling within us through the Lord Jesus. "The joy of the Lord is your strength… Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means" (Nehemiah 8:10; II Thessalonians 3:16). God Himself constitutes the essence of joy and the reality of peace. By believing with our hearts, we affirm these gifts of His grace not merely in terms of the kindness of His hand, but rather in the presence of His Person. We may not alway think accordingly as we seek to know joy and peace. However, every experience of a rejoicing and tranquil heart results from God's being, dwelling within us, and our believing, by which "we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2).
Of the infinite and innumerable qualities of our Lord's character and nature into which we will forever journey, His joy and peace will never fail in revealing "wonders without number" (Job 9:10). We presently know such glory "in believing," which often leads to corresponding emotion and sensibility. Sometimes, however, joy and peace must be known in sorrow and turmoil. By faith, we "rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." We affirm God's peace by affixing our minds on Him when winds blow and waves crash around us, and within our emotional and physical feelings (Philippians 4:4; Isaiah 26:3). The day will come when our Lord's peace and joy will be known without such contrary experience. This is not that day. No, this is the day when we rejoice in our Lord's joy by faith, and acknowledge the presence of God's peace "in believing…"
"Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy."
(Psalm 43:4)
"His name shall be called… the Prince of peace."
(Isaiah 9:6)
Weekly Memory Verse
I have loved thee with an everlasting love.
(Jeremiah 31:3)
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