“For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17
In this verse Paul is admonishing the church in Rome who allowed their differing convictions about what food a Christian should or shouldn’t be allowed to eat to divide them. Food was causing strife, frustration, and eroding the peace and joy they were supposed to be experiencing as citizens of the kingdom of God. The question for us is, are we experiencing the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit in our lives?
If we aren’t, what has robbed us of our peace? What robs us of joy? The first thing that might come to mind are trials or suffering. Jesus wept over Jerusalem and when Lazarus died. Jesus didn’t experience joy in the garden of Gethsemane when He said His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Certainly there was no joy on the cross. But these situations were only temporary. Joy and peace weren’t robbed, just obscured for time. Obscured but still there.
The Scripture tells us to rejoice in our trials and sufferings because great is our reward in heaven. There is a time to weep but it lasts only for a night, and joy comes in the morning for the faithful servant of the Lord. (Psalm 30:5) Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. He fully trusted in the word of Father, believing the promises concerning Him. His suffering lasted for a night and His joy came Easter morning. The same is true for us. The way to move from weeping at night to joy in the morning is to understand, embrace, and keep in the forefront of our mind the joy that is set before us. So, trials shouldn’t rob us of peace and joy. Sin does, however.
Sin is what was causing all the strife in the Roman church. Sin is always what robs us of joy and replaces it with depression, anxiety, anger, fear, and hate. In Galatians 5:22-24 the fruits of the Spirit such as love, joy, and peace, are inversely related to the “fruits” of the sinful flesh such as envy, contentions, hatred, outbursts of wrath, murder, etc. In Galatians we are commanded to walk in the Spirit, to direct our feet away from the works of the flesh and direct them to the Spirit. Similarly, in Romans 12:19 Paul tells them that in order to end their strife they need to pursue the things that make for peace and joy.
Therefore, the way to experience peace and joy of God’s kingdom in our lives is to pursue the things that make for peace and joy. We are not to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies that we should obey it in its lusts. (Romans 6:12) In every trial we experience we are to keep our eyes fixed on the joy that God has set before us. We are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, enduring the suffering as He did, knowing that joy and peace are coming in the morning. May God restore unto us the joy of our salvation!
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn