True Joy and Peace in Christ Jesus

Philippians 4:6, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice!

There is a difference between happiness and joy. This generation is seeking happiness. We live in a generation in search of happiness, but we know, plain and simple, your are not happy all of the time. Happiness depends on circumstances, and if you put your trust in happiness, you are going to be a casualty to circumstances, because happiness will not stay the same, and there will be times when you are happy, and times when that happiness will disappear.

But we know as true believers in the Lord, our Lord is unchanging, He is the unchanging God, and the Bible says in Hebrews 13:8 LITV, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. The Word of God, here in Philippians 4, does not tell us to rejoice in our circumstances but in Christ, for it says in Philippians 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice! The Lord never changes, never, and the Word of God says, Rejoice in Him always. 

Now, there is nothing wrong with happiness, or being happy, but happiness functions best when happiness originates from the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord does not depend on happiness, but depends on the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

There will be times of sorrow, times when you are not expected to smile. There were times when the Lord Jesus wept, and the Bible tells in Luke 19:38 LITV, And as He drew near, seeing the city, He wept over it. And in John 11:32 LITV, Jesus wept. 

There is a difference between happiness and joy. Tragedy, sorrow, heartache and pain, they come, and as Christians, we are not immune to them, but there is something Christians can have through these times, which them without Christ Jesus can not know, and can never know without Him, and that is true joy and true peace in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We can know true joy and true peace when we face and go through tragedy, sorrow, heartache and pain.

We can experience joy and peace in Him, as we go through tragedy, sorrow, heartache and alike, in the One who loved us and gave Himself for us, and made us His own, and He is with us by His Spirit, and we can look to Him and lean upon, and we can come to Him, and stand on His Word and trust Him, for the Lord has said in His Word, in Romans 8:28 LITV, But we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to purpose. We can have peace and joy in Him, no matter what we face. Psalm 46:1b LITV, God is our refuge and strength, very much found to be a help in distresses.

In Acts 16, we see Paul the apostle commanded a demonic spirit to come out of a certain slave girl in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says in v. 18 LITV, And she did this over many days. But becoming distressed, and turning to the demonic spirit, Paul said, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out from her! And it came out in that same hour. Notice Paul was distressed or annoyed by what was going on with this slave girl who had a demonic spirit in her, who kept following after Paul and them with him, and saying, These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are announcing to us a way of salvation (v. 17). Paul was distressed and he turned and commanded the evil spirit to be gone from her. Now when Paul had commanded the spirit to leave her, her owners saw their hope of making a profit from her, like they did before the evil spirit left her, had vanished, which caused them to make trouble for Paul and Silas, and in v.19-23, Paul and Silas were dragged, beaten, and thrown into prison. 

Then in v. 23, the Bible says, And laying on them many stripes, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them securely. Now, do you think at this time, Paul and Silas had a big smile on their face, happy these evil men were doing these wicked things towards them, no, of course not, they would not have been happy one bit about the evil things that they were doing to them, and no where in the Bible says we are to be. Yes, the Bible says we are blessed to be persecuted for Christ’s sake, and indeed they would have been blessed to be persecuted for Christ’s sake, but that is not the same as being happy about sin, and happy about evil men doing evil things. 

For example, If we went out somewhere and when we got back, our house had been robbed, all our things have been taken, and the place had been completely wrecked, do you think the Bible teaches that we are to be happy about that evil, that we are to say, I am so happy that my house has been robbed. No, absolutely not, you would be very unhappy about that, and the evil that had taken place, and rightly so, but this is important, even though someone has robbed our things, there is one thing they cannot steal from us, and that is the joy and peace we have received from the Lord in Christ. Our joy is in Him, and no one can take Him away, Christ remains always, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and our joy and peace are in Him, and not in our circumstances. When our circumstances change, Christ does not, and He remains the same, where our joy and peace is to be found. Whatever we go through we can have true peace and joy in Him.

When we carry on with Paul and Silas, we see v. 25, having been thrown in prison, the Bible says, And having prayed, toward midnight Paul and Silas praised God in a hymn. And the prisoners listened to them. Even though they had been dragged in the streets, and beaten with many stripes, and thrown into prison, they rejoiced in the Lord. They had true joy in Him. They prayed to God and sang a hymn. They had peace in Him. Then in v. 25, and the prisoners listened to them. What a witness. They were different to the other prisoners, and the jailer. We see in this true story, the jailer got saved, and not him only but his family too believed. The Lord was with Paul and Silas, and He never left them nor forsook, and God will never leave us nor forsake us neither, no matter what we go through. Amen. 

So may we always remember, there will be times when we will not be happy, legitimately not happy, but we are to rejoice in the Lord, and have joy and peace in Him, In Him who we belong to, In Him whom we have been justified before a holy God, who loved us and laid down His life for us, raised for our justification, and represents us in Heaven, and is coming again for us. We can have confidence in His Word and can stand on His Word, for His promises in Christ are Yes and Amen. Our God is the God of truth, and His Word is truth. The God who has saved us in our Lord Jesus, is the God who will keep us in our Lord Jesus. We are sealed unto the Day of Redemption by the Holy Spirit of promise in our Lord Jesus. God can be fully trusted, and we can stand on His Word, whether in life or in death. When the lights are on, or when the lights go out. Know that joy and peace that has been given to us in Christ Jesus, and know we are in His hands, and He will never let us go. Amen.