Love, joy, and peace. These are things that may seem hard to find in this world. So many things try to tear us down. We even see people trying to tear each other down. But, these things should not be happening.
If we feel peace inside us, we won’t take our own anger out on others. If we feel joy inside, we won’t make others feel down by always being so gloomy. These are things we pray for other people to have, as well as ourselves, and we know that God can do it. For instance, Jesus promises the “peace that passeth understanding” to deal with things. That means, a peace that nobody can understand, because it comes from God. I just prayed for someone to have that peace as I was typing this; a man I know who had to put his beloved dog to sleep, because the dog was so old.
Of course, we will have problems in this world. The Bible says of those who have lost loved ones to death, “We do not mourn like those who have no hope.” That is different than saying we won’t mourn at all. We just mourn differently. We miss loved ones, but we can think about how they are in a better place if they knew Jesus Christ as Savior; or if, as a small child, they died before the age where they were accountable for their sins. They are in Heaven, where nobody can do anything mean. Nobody can hurt other people. We can focus on how they’re not hurting anymore, and all handicaps are gone. We can await that great reunion, where we will never have to part.
That can be used even if you don’t have loved ones like that. If you have love, joy, and peace, you will be happy with what you have. God will help you learn not to demand the latest and best in everything. He will give us all that we need. He tells us to be content – that is, happy, satisfied – with whatever we have, because He will never leave or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)
