Peace and Joy, Now and Forever

The Gospel of John records Jesus as saying, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). A little later, after telling His disciples to abide in His love by keeping His commandments, Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11).”

Some of us may be finding peace and joy to be in short supply these days as we grapple with the numerous changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Loneliness, financial insecurity, fear, anxiety, depression, and relationship difficulties are daily realities for many of us. In spite of these things, peace and joy are still available to us in Jesus, but how?

The peace and joy that Jesus spoke of are based on the salvation that He accomplished for us on the cross. The Apostle Paul says that peace with God comes through faith in Jesus (Romans 5:1). When we believe that Jesus is God’s Son who died in our place, our sins—the very thing that separates us from God—are forgiven. Therefore, through faith in Jesus we are no longer enemies of God. Not only do we have peace with God now, but He also promises that we will live with Him in heaven forever, where there will be no more tears, mourning, crying, pain, or death (Revelation 21:4), and where there is “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

If we trust God’s promise that we will have peace and joy with Him for all eternity, then we will experience peace and joy now, even in the midst of suffering. But if we focus on our problems, peace and joy will be replaced with worry and despair. To experience peace and joy now, we must have faith, which the author of Hebrews says is, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

It is not easy to have faith in the middle of life’s struggles. The Bible recounts a time when Jesus and His disciples were caught in a dangerous storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41). The disciples—some of whom were professional fisherman—feared for their lives, while Jesus slept soundly in the stern. The Creator of the universe was with them in the boat, and moments later He would wake up and calm the store with a word, yet in that moment the disciples only saw the raging sea. They did not trust the God of peace.

Friends, if you focus too much on the circumstances of life, you will lack peace and joy. But if you believe in Jesus and look to Him, you will find true peace and everlasting joy, not only in the life to come, but also in the here and now—even in the midst of life’s storms.

Jonathon Enger

Associate Pastor for Education and Youth

First Baptist Church of Sturgeon Bay