Peace and joy

God has promised that we can have a sense of peace and joy in every circumstance we face. Jesus said, ‘I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete’ (John 15:11 NIV). So how can we hold on to joy and peace and not lose them?

Paul tells us, ‘I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit’.

The word ‘trust’ in that verse can also be translated as ‘believe’. So the key to keeping hold of our joy and peace, even through tough times, is to keep trusting God and believing He’ll come through for us. It’s okay for us to have questions, and to wonder how or when God’s going to move, but if we start doubting His love and goodness, or thinking He can’t or won’t help us, we’ll also start to lose our hope.

One thing to remember during these times is that we don’t necessarily need massive amounts of faith to see God move. Jesus said: ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you’ (Matthew 17:20 NIV). God can take our tiny bit of faith and turn it into something that breaks through the biggest obstacles.

When we feel ourselves slipping into a place of doubt, let’s move back into a place of trust, joy and peace by thinking of all the things He’s done for us through our mustard seed-sized faith.

Jonah 2; Luke 11:29-32