Hello Heartbeats! Well, as promised, this week we’re talking about the peace of God. So let’s dive right in. Peace is a place of tranquility or rest. Peace will allow you to stand in the midst of trouble and not be troubled. It allows your heart to not be troubled by the things that’s going on around you. Just like joy, it’s on the inside of you and it allows you to be calm in the midst of the storm. It allows you to not have any anxiety about anything. In Judges 6:11-24, we have the account of Gideon when God calls him a mighty man of valor. And Gideon is like…me, who are you talking to Lord? Why are you calling me that? He says Lord if you are who you say you are then why are we suffering? Why are we the people experiencing so much trouble? If you are Lord, then why don’t you do something? And God responds, why don’t I do something? Why don’t you use the power that’s on the inside of you for your people? Gideon now starts to explain that he is the least of his family, the weakest of the nation. God reminds him that he was called to change a nation. And it’s at that moment and place Gideon begins to worship God and he calls that place Jehovah-Shalom (The Lord is Peace). After that Gideon was able to do what God called him to do without any anxiety. He used the power within to tap into the peace that was already there. Gideon realized in the midst of all that was going on, he had the power to do everything he was called to do. He had peace in the midst of trouble and that peace gave him strength to be the mighty man of valor that God called him to be. God wants us all to experience this same peace. Confess: God wants me whole and I’m getting whole by the minute! Longsuffering is next.
