Messages

Blog entries

About Me

My photo
I want to grow as a leader, and I want to help others grow. Sharing my thoughts on leadership is intended to help us grow together into all God wants for us. I hope you enjoy my blog.

Followers

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Walking In Peace

Sometimes peace comes because Jesus comes and says, "Peace, be still" as in Mark 4:39.  The storm is stilled, and all around you is peace.  This is wonderful, and we appreciate the miracle of stilling the storm.  But other times, we experience peace in the midst of the storm.  This is more like the eye of the hurricane, where all is still in the storm, yet the storm continues to swirl all around.  Gideon experienced this kind of miracle in Judges 6.  The Midianites oppressed Israel, and each year came and destroyed the produce of the ground, as well as the sheep, oxen, and donkeys.  They would leave nothing behind, and Israel was left impoverished year after year.  Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress to hide, when the angel of the Lord spoke and said, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!"  Gideon did not see himself as a mighty man of valor!  He did not believe that the Lord was with him.  He argued with the angel.  The Lord sees us differently than we see ourselves.  He sees us as the mighty men and women of God that He made us to be!  He is with us!  His tangible presence is with us!  He manifests Himself to us everyday, though we are sometimes like Gideon and don't recognize it.  You can confidently say, "The Lord is with me."  He has already promised that He would never leave me, nor forsake me.  Even in the midst of the storm, the Lord is with us!  Gideon asks the angel to confirm these things.  He prepares an offering and sets it before the angel.  Fire from the angel's staff consumed the meat and the bread.  Now Gideon perceived this to be an angel of the Lord.  There Gideon built an altar to the Lord and called it, "The Lord is Peace", or "Jehovah Shalom."  Gideon has changed!  He now knows God as his peace.  Nothing has changed on the outside, yet Gideon has changed on the inside.  He has a confidence by the peace of God, that God is in control, and will bring peace in the midst of this storm.  The enemy no longer has the upper hand.  Gideon is no longer afraid.  By Jehovah Shalom, Israel will conquer their enemy.  By the peace of God, we will conquer our enemy.  The storm may still be brewing, but inside we know we have the victory.  We know we will overcome by the peace of God in our hearts.  We must walk in peace, whether the storm is stilled, or the storm is still brewing.  He is Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our Peace.

Are you walking in peace today?

No comments:

Post a Comment