Recently, Gina said to me, "I'll be out on the back porch if you are looking for me." That phrase, 'back porch' is peace to me. You see, some of our greatest joy and times of peace have taken place on our back porch in the cool of the morning just as the sun is coming up. We share times of conversation and laughter on the back porch as the sky begins to glow. But those times always come to an end as the day calls out its tasks and responsibilities and we both begin getting ready for the day. Is this the end of our peace for the day? Of course not! Although the day may hold many stresses and complexities and trouble, none of these things dictate the disposition of our peace. So how can peace be consistent?
The joy of the Lord is the hinge pin of consistent peace (Philippians 4:4-9). All other disciplines follow after our joy in the Lord or to put it another way, our confidence in the Lord. Without knowing he indwells and fills we will not be gracious. Without knowing he hears us we will not pray. Without knowing our hope in Christ we will not consider our hope in eternity. Without the joy of the Lord, no other Christian discipline functions at its intended capacity.
But how can we have joy in the midst of a hostile chaotic world?
“Christian joy is a mood independent of our immediate circumstances. If it were dependent on our surroundings, then, indeed, it would be as uncertain as an unprotected candle burning on a gusty night.” – J. H. Jowett, Day by Day.
This life changes but the Lord does not change. There are times and seasons in life that arrange themselves like a sunny spring day and others like the gloom of winter, cold and dreary. One day I stand in the presence of new love at a wedding, the next over an open grave. In a single hour I can hear the celebration of new parents over the birth of a child and the despair of a man who sees no reason to continue living. In the same moment I can feel both like a champion and a chump. The days we live change like the weather, but our joy can remain. What’s the secret? “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." (De. 31:6). “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” (Josh. 1:5). “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Ro. 8:31).
God is not a fair-weather Companion leaving us when the days grow dark and lonely. He is with us always in the days of life, the day of death, the day of judgment.
