Filled With Joy and Peace

(Background passage: Romans 15:6-13) 

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.  -Romans 15:13 (KJV) 

As a follower of Jesus Christ I know the Lord is able to carry my burdens for me.  Christ is perfectly willing to do this great work in my life.  Honestly, this is not what amazes me.  What does amaze me is my tenacity in hanging on to my problems when I have the blessed option of giving them over to the Lord.  I recall hearing a story about a place in the world where monkeys were captured using a bottle filled with nuts.  The monkey would reach into the bottle, but with its hand full of nuts could not bring out its hand.  The monkey’s unwillingness to let go of what it was holding would be its undoing, for the monkey could then be easily captured.   

I find I am like this myself at times.  I will hold onto problems, worries, fears, anxieties, guilt, and host of other issues when all the while I could be handing these over to the Lord.  When we seek the Lord in prayer and give our burdens to Him we are flooded with peace, for our burdens are lifted and the load we are carrying becomes lighter.  Worry and fear have a way of wrapping around us like a wet garment.  We have no joy or peace until they are cast from us.  The joy we then experience is wonderfully liberating. 

What are you clinging to today?  Why keep holding to anxiety and fears when you can hand these over to the Lord?  By giving our problems and fears to the Lord we find spiritual victory and lightness in our step which leads us forward into the abundant life Jesus promised.  No one’s life is perfect.  Problems will come.  Life is hard and will probably get harder.  Take heart, for there is hope in the Lord.  He will forgive, empower, and come alongside us in our darkest hours reminding us of His presence. 

Claim the Lord’s power, and delight in the hope which is meant to be ours in Christ.