Experiencing Peace, Joy, and Love through Jesus
Scripture: Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through whom we have gained access by faith into His grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.”
In this podcast episode, the speaker shares a personal revelation about the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice and the access we have to God’s peace, joy, and love through Him. The scripture passage from Romans 5:1-5 beautifully captures this truth and provides practical insights for us to deepen our relationship with the Lord.
Insights:
Peace with God: Through faith in Jesus, we are justified and reconciled with God. This reconciliation brings us peace, a priceless gift that surpasses any worldly circumstances. We can experience this peace by surrendering our worries and anxieties to God, trusting in His sovereignty and His perfect plan for our lives.
Access to God’s Grace: Jesus has granted us direct access to the Father, allowing us to experience His grace. By embracing this access through faith, we can stand firm in His grace, knowing that we are loved, forgiven, and accepted. Let us approach God with confidence, seeking His grace in every aspect of our lives.
Rejoicing in Sufferings: It may seem counterintuitive, but as followers of Christ, we can find joy even in the midst of suffering. Our sufferings produce perseverance, which builds character, and ultimately leads to hope. Instead of allowing hardships to discourage us, let us choose to rejoice, knowing that God is using these trials to shape us into His image.
Action Steps:
Embrace God’s Peace: Take a moment to reflect on any areas of your life where you lack peace. Surrender those concerns to God, trusting that He is in control. Seek His presence through prayer and meditation, allowing His peace to guard your heart and mind.
Access God’s Grace: Make a conscious effort to approach God with confidence, knowing that you have direct access to His grace. Seek His guidance and wisdom in every decision and circumstance. Spend time in His Word, allowing His grace to transform your thoughts and actions.
Rejoice in Sufferings: Shift your perspective on suffering. Instead of viewing it as a burden, see it as an opportunity for growth and character development. Choose to rejoice in the midst of trials, knowing that God is working all things together for your good.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Jesus and the access we have to Your peace, joy, and love through Him. Help us to fully embrace this truth and experience the abundant life You have promised. Grant us the strength to surrender our worries, access Your grace, and find joy even in the midst of suffering. Mold us and shape us according to Your will, and may our lives be a testimony of Your love and faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Podcast Transcript: Noticing the Gift of Peace, Love, and Joy in Scripture
Introduction
I am really starting to notice something in scripture that I haven’t really noticed that much before. It’s kind of like when you get a car. It’s kind of like when I remember when I got my trailblazer. We bought a 2006 Trailblazer years ago. We’ve put a ton of miles on this thing. It’s been an awesome car. As soon as we got it, you’re driving down the road, and all of a sudden, you just start seeing all these other Trailblazers. It’s like, man, I didn’t notice all these cars before. It’s like, I thought I was going to have the only one on the road. And here I am. I see them all the time. I feel like now that I’ve noticed, the scripture has pointed out everything that Jesus has done for me.
The Depth of Jesus’ Sacrifice
It’s not just dying on the cross and this physical death that he experienced for me, but also that he took the wrath that was coming for me from God, that he experienced God’s wrath poured out on him in my stead. I see that all the time now in scripture. I’m reading, like, almost every time I get into a chapter that the Apostle Paul has written, that he mentions it. For sure, I’m curious now if it’s gonna be in every book that he’s written, but I’m in chapter five of Romans today, And in verses 9 and following it says, since we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him? For it is when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his son. How much more having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life? Man. We’re rescued from his wrath. But the exciting thing about chapter five isn’t his wrath. It’s just kind of something I’ve been noticing a lot. If you’ve listened to any of my podcasts before, I do mention that regularly just because it keeps standing out to me now. Like, are we doing an injustice to what Jesus did? Because we don’t mention the wrath of God that we don’t have to experience anymore through him. Through Jesus’s sacrifice, we no longer have to experience God’s wrath because Jesus did it in our behalf. Let’s not miss that as a church.
Peace with God
So, above that and beyond that, chapter 5 is super encouraging to me because, let me just start reading in verse 1. It says, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have peace. There should be peace in our life. And that is priceless. When you have peace in your life, no matter what’s going on, there is a lot of things in our life that we can’t control that just gets thrown at us and can disrupt what we would like our life to be. And to have peace. I mean, you cannot put a price tag on that. And that comes from God, and we have access to that because of Jesus. Jesus has given us access directly to the Father so that we can experience His love and His peace.
Rejoicing in Sufferings
To continue in verse 2, it says, Through whom we have gained access by faith into His grace in which we now stand. and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings. When you’re experiencing what God has for you and you have that peace, you’re even to a point where you can rejoice. You can have joy no matter what. Like no matter what’s going on, no matter what circumstances in my life is happening, I can experience joy because peace, love, and joy come from the Father. I have access to that through Jesus Christ, through faith, and He’s given us the Holy Spirit, which talks about in verse 5 later on, that we can experience God in our life, and we can experience His peace and His joy and His comfort, and we can be freaks about it, even in our sufferings, because, and we continue on in verse 3, in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character hope verse five and hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us all we are super blessed we have the ability to rise above circumstances in our life, to experience joy, to experience peace, to experience His love and His presence in our life. What a gift that is! Hopefully this is encouraging to you as it has been to me. For what it’s worth, these are my thoughts on chapter 5 of Romans. Hopefully you’re getting into the Word yourself because I know God can mold you and shape you when you’re open to hearing what He has to say.
