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Faith, Joy and Peace
Faith, peace and joy are major, key elements in a believer's life. We come to Christ by faith alone and in Christ we can have indescribable peace and joy. What is faith? How can I increase my faith? How can I really experience peace and joy in my life?
Faith
Faith is a big subject which I will not try to cover completely. I want to focus on our faith and trust in God in the day to day events of our lives. How can we follow Christ moment by moment? It is obviously by faith, but how does that really work? What are some of the keys to really being able to follow Him in all that we do?
First and foremost we must know and love Jesus. We must know His power, His grace, His love, His mercy and all His wonder and glory. He is so good. He is so wonderful. We must delight in Him. If He is not the world to us, we will not want to put our trust in Him. Our knowledge of Christ and the depth of our love and relationship with Him will determine how much faith we place in Him. As we know Him as the Creator of the Universe, All Powerful and Loving we cannot help but trust Him completely with all areas of our lives.
A practical element of our faith is how we view the circumstances of our lives. What thoughts go through our mind when we are confronted by a difficult or challenging situation? It can be anything, big or small. We encounter multiple challenges each day of our life where we can place our faith and trust completely in Christ or we can worry and fret about the situation and avoid following Him. A key to following Christ by faith in all things is to not consider or even give thought to the negatives or even the potential outcome of a situation. It's not that we look at all the bad things that could happen if we follow Christ and then, confronted with these things and considering all our fears, we then push on despite all these things and follow Him. No, we delight in Christ and place our full trust in Him and give no thought for what might happen as we follow Him.
I will give you one example from the Bible to help illustrate my point. As the people of Israel left Egypt, they were camped near the Red Sea when Pharaoh and his army approached them.
The Egyptians--all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops--pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. (Exodus 14:9-10 NIV) The people were understandably terrified. Here, the mighty Egyptian army was going to cut them to pieces. What must have been going through their mind in this situation? They were thinking of being overwhelmed and overpowered by the soldiers in the chariots. Who knows what kind of destruction and pain the Egyptians could have inflicted upon the Israelites? There was so much to worry about. That's the problem. The people focused on the implications and possible results of their situation and did not focus on God (who happened to have a visible presence with them in the pillar of cloud). To have complete peace in such a difficult circumstance, one must know Him who is over all things and not even give a thought as to what "bad" things might happen. It's not that you consider worst that could happen and then overcome the fears and anxiety and then trust in God. No, you must be filled with Him; trust completely in Him and give not even one thought as to what might happen and simply trust in Him.
Understanding this truth has radically changed my life. I used to think about the day ahead of me and the situations I thought I might face, I could never be at peace until I had "worked out" all the situations in my mind and come up with a plan and outcome that would be good for me. When I could not resolve things in my mind, I then would worry or I would avoid the difficult situation and take the easy way out. I never really trusted in Christ, I trusted in my ability to figure things out. Now I see that I don't need to figure out and "solve" all the situations and circumstances in my life to be at peace. I don't need to have a complete plan. I delight in Christ, rejoice in Him and follow Him wherever He leads. He is in control of all things. He is all powerful and I can trust in Him. I give no thought to what might happen.
Let me give you an example from my life to make this clearer. Before I discovered this truth, I never, ever talked to anyone outside of church about Jesus. I was afraid of what people might think or say. An opportunity might arise to share about Christ, but I would always think of some "bad thing" that might happen if I spoke up and I wouldn't say anything. I never shared about Christ to anyone at work or anywhere. I knew this wasn't right, but I could never change. Now, my life is completely changed. Delighting in Christ and captivated by Him, I give not even the slightest thought as to what someone might think or say and talk about Christ. I still do sometimes worry what people might think and then I change what I say or do based on what I think. I am still growing, but the change has truly been radical. For the first time in my life, I am talking to others at work and elsewhere about Christ. This may seem like a simple thing, but this is huge for me. Now this seems how I should have always lived my life in Christ.
Let's put it another way, do we respond to our circumstances or do we respond to Christ? Are your thoughts filled with Christ or are your thoughts filled with plans and concerns about your life. Your thoughts will guide and direct your life. Be renewed in your thoughts and follow Christ completely.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2 NIV)
Joy and Peace
It is important to understand what I mean when I speak of joy and peace. These are completely independent of the circumstances and situations of your life. They are found in Christ alone and nowhere else. Many people are happy and have a peace around them, but this is based on their circumstances. True peace and joy knows no boundaries or exceptions.
If you understand the principles I wrote about concerning faith, you will be well on your way to knowing joy and peace in your walk with the Lord. As I have said already, peace and joy are found in Christ and nowhere else. God does not give a believer peace and joy, we have Christ who is our peace and joy. Peace and joy are not mysterious things which ebb and flow in our lives, but are ours to know as we delight and abide in Christ. We cannot but have peace and joy as we are in Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself in our lives.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV) Don't pray for other believers that they may have peace and joy. Pray that they would know Christ. Peace and joy flow from Him. God does not just give us these things. They are found in Christ and Christ alone.
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