6 Ways to Keep Your Joy and Peace
I recently had the opportunity to share with the women of our church 6 ways I have found to keep my joy and peace.
I began by reading Luke 2:8-20 NLT.
There are 5 Observations I’d like you to consider. There are many more, but there are 5 I’d like to share with you today from Luke 2.
v9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them
Have you ever experienced the Lord’s glory? Have you felt His presence? Have you encountered the Living God? And seen His power in your life?
We need to remember - His glory in our life.
If you don’t recall a specific experience with the Living God, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Ask to see His power and His glory. Power is what He does and Glory is who He is. He is faithful, and He will answer. Often in ways you may not expect :)
v 10 “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
The Good News brings great joy to all people. The baby in a manger is just the beginning of the story. The cross is the real gift! but the cross isn’t the end.
Freedom comes from walking with the living God. The resurrected Christ who intercedes for us and sent His Holy Spirit to live within us.
Are you experiencing His Joy today? His great joy is available to all people.
v 14 (the angles were praising God and saying.) peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Let’s dig a little deeper into these last two sections: the angel talks about “ Great joy to all people” and the angels sing about: “Peace on Earth”
JOY and PEACE - two words we hear a lot about - especially this time of year
Joy and Peace - are the 2nd and 3rd fruit of the Holy Spirit = only after Love
“The joy of the Lord is my strength” from Nehemiah 8:10 and “rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household” Deuteronomy 26:11 “and the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.” are just 3 of the MANY verses on Joy and Peace that are among my favorites.
Joy and Peace - Two things that can be hard to walk in
If you are in a season of heaviness: Struggling emotionally, physically, spiritually, or mentally.
If you are waiting for God to answer your prayers for a cure, for the prodigal, for a relationship, or for tangible things
If you are lonely, grieving, or experiencing great pain
All of these are challenging, but God can reveal Himself in these times, that we may not get to experience any other way. I am not here to tell you to “get over it” or bury your feelings, or pretend you aren’t in the valley. God knows you are there, and He’s right there with you.
I have come to learn about God’s Joy and His Peace
There was a lot of guilt and shame associated with my earlier years.
I battled depression for most of my life.
I was raised in a home without faith.
It has taken YEARS to confidently say, “Weeping may last the night, but joy comes in the morning”
Joy and Peace are ONLY found in our Lord! Not only are they fruit of the Spirit that we experience when we are walking in obedience with Him. HE is our Joy and HE brings us peace.
Without making this all about me - I would like to share a few things I have learned about God’s Joy and His Peace. We all know how easy it is to lose our peace and joy in an instant. Here are some ways I have found that keep me coming back to His Joy and Peace.
It's not all about me LOL It’s all about Jesus and His finished work of the cross. There’s nothing I can do to get God to love me any more, and nothing I can do for him to love me any less. No matter how I’m feeling, He is LOVE and He loves me!
Not striving allows joy and peace to reign in my heart
I need to spend time DAILY in the Word of God, memorizing scripture, studying and learning all I can about Him. It’s a relationship, and I can’t know Him if I don’t know about Him and spend time with Him.
In His presence is joy and peace.
I need to bring every pain, every offense, every negative experience to Him. The sooner I do it the less of a chance it has to take root in my heart. Because bitter roots wreak havoc. “Out of the heart the mouth speaks” By being real and honest with God about my struggles and the sandpaper people in my life. He can smooth those rough edges off if I let Him.
The battle is His and joy and peace are found in letting Him battle for me
I need to be grateful by focusing on the good. By looking for the blessings, it takes my focus off the negative, and keeps my mind on God. I want to have the mind of Christ and “take every thought captive in obedience to Christ Jesus”
Gratitude keeps joy and peace in my heart
I need to be around other believers. Especially those that are encouraging, but can be honest with me. I have to have people I can trust. I have to be willing to be vulnerable so they can know all of me. Not just what I want people to see. I don’t have to be transparent with everyone. We need safe people.
In fellowship with other believers, joy and peace are strengthened
I have to offer my body as a living sacrifice. Holy and pleasing to the Lord. It is in offering myself daily (sometimes hourly) as a sacrifice, my life in exchange for the Living God - Jesus Himself by the power of His Holy Spirit living within me. When I offer myself - I am releasing control and expectations and asking and accepting His will to be done, not mine. That’s a challenge for a control freak like me :) I have to go back to #1 often “it’s not all about me”
Allowing the Holy Spirit to reign in my heart and mind cultivates joy and peace
Back to Luke 2…..
v17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
Are you telling everyone what is happening in your life since you have met Jesus?
The world is dark and there are a lot of hopeless, hurting people…. and we have the Hope of the nations. The supernatural all powerful living God. The light of the world who wants to walk with them.
Who can you share the good news with?
v 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.
Are you praising and glorifying God for His goodness?? Are you remembering all you see and hear from HIm? I’d like to encourage you to make a habit of recording how you have seen God at work in your life, so you can praise Him, glorify Him and share it with others.
Comment below and let me know which of these 6 ways resonate with you the most.
“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 power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NIV
Hugs and Blessings,