JOY AND PEACE

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

JOY AND PEACE

READ:  Romans 1:18-23; 5:1-11

Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 5:1

Lucky Lawrence thought he had it all.  Like so many who seek fulfillment in fame, money, and success, he struggled to find real joy despite having all those things.  His real name was Larry Wright and he was the number one rock-and-roll radio personality in Phoenix in the 1960s.  But his family life was a mess, and he was fast becoming an alcoholic.

As Mike Yorkey tells it in his book Touched by the Savior, the solution came to Lucky Lawrence when his wife, Sue, trusted Jesus as her Savior.  Larry noticed the peace and joy in her life and the obvious change in her attitude toward him.  Soon he too asked Jesus to forgive him and be his Savior.

Gone was the frustrating search for peace.  In its place was the joy and peace of God.  Larry and Sue have now served the Lord for more than thirty years.

In Romans we see the contrast between the two kinds of existence possible in this life.  In Romans 1:18-32, we read about the sad, frightening life of those who refuse to live for God.  It’s a life full of trouble and turmoil.  But Romans 5:1-11, we see what happens when a person trust Christ.  “We have peace,” it says.  “We rejoice,”  we’re told.  And we have hope, love, and salvation.  What a contrast!

Which of these two worlds are you living in?   DB

HOW TO HAVE JOY AND PEACE

Believe God and His Word (Romans 5:1; 15:13).

Live by the power of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 22-23).

With God’s help, always do what is right (Romans 14:17).

No God, no peace; know God, know peace.