Robbed of Peace and Joy

The truth is that you can have it all, so to speak - everything that the world deems desirable: safety, wealth, money, power - and yet live the most miserable life imaginable. Hmm. Why is that? In 1972, Richard Nixon became President of the United States in a landslide victory. A brilliant strategist, he opened diplomatic relations with China and oversaw key arms control treaties. Outwardly, he had it all — power, prestige and legacy. But his own wrongdoing shattered it. Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal — a cover-up of illegal activities tied to his re-election campaign — revealed deep paranoia, deceit, and abuse of power. Under growing evidence and public pressure, he became the first U.S. president to resign in disgrace in 1974, leaving him in political exile. His own corruption robbed him of peace, joy, and the dignity that could have defined his legacy. Isaiah 48:22 "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked." (ESV) That's a warning to Israel at the end of their seventy-year exile as slaves in Babylon, which had resulted from their disobedience toward God. He's about to return them to the Promised Land, to allow them to rebuild, to give them the peace He'd always wanted for them. But God's people, both then and now, needed to be warned that His peace never comes to those who continue in their sin. I know, that's perhaps not a popular notion these days. I get that. But still, I implore you to heed this solemn warning in how you lead the rest of your life: "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked." That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.