How to Find Your Peace

Today’s Verse:

Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. ~Judges 6:24

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Peace is calm, serenity, tranquility, and removal of fear. D.L. Moody said, “A great many people are trying to make peace, but that has already been done. God has not left it for us to do; all we have to do is enter into it.” A few years ago, one of my good church members decided that they wanted to move to another state to live. I asked, “Why do you want to move?” The member said, “I am moving where I can have peace.” For this member, peace was getting away from the noisiness of their surroundings. Gideon gave us the name Jehovah Shalom, or “the Lord my Peace.” Let us see the vital importance of having the Lord’s peace in our lives.

We see the prayer.

“And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.” God told Gideon that he was selected to save Israel out of the hand of Midian. Gideon’s reaction was one of doubt, fear, and panic. So, Gideon prayed and asked God to show him a sign that God had spoken with him. He wanted God to prove His love, favor, and peace in his life. We are commanded to not allow our hearts to dwell in anxiety, but in everything by prayer and supplication to let our requests be made known unto God. Cast your cares upon the Lord. Lay your burden upon Him. When your heart is overwhelmed, it is time to ascend the mountain of prayer to see your worries from where God sits and not from where you have languished.

We see the present.

“And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.” Gideon knew that he needed to bring an acceptable offering to the Lord. In dealing with the pressures and difficulties of life, we tend to want to be on the receiving end of things when it is important that we are on the giving end instead. We will not attain peace unless we surrender our concerns to the Lord. We must come and be ready for God to put fire to our concerns and worries. It is only after our concerns are revealed by fire that we realize we are self-centered when we must be God-centered.

We see the promise.

“And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” The sign that Gideon needed was peace. We see that the source of peace is God Himself. We see the strength of peace. God’s peace removes our fears and concerns. We see the security of peace. God told Gideon that he would not die. We see the sufficiency of peace. The Lord gives His peace always. When a sinner gets saved, he is at peace with God. As he grows in the Lord, he experiences the peace of God. God’s promise for us is personal, pacifying, and perpetual.

We see the presence.

“Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” Gideon named the location “the Lord my Peace.” It was the presence of God in his life that guaranteed him this peace. This location was also named Abiezer. In Hebrew, this means “my Father; mine Helper.” So, when we put these two names together, we get: “my Father; mine Helper is the Lord my Peace.” Peace is not found in a place or prescriptions, but in one Person: the Lord! Not just peace, but the Lord my Peace.

Have a peace-filled God Morning.

Bible Reading Schedule: Job 11-13

#Gideon #Judges #Peace