WHAT’S IN A NAME? Part 1: Jehovah-Shalom

A Name is a powerful thing.

Psalms 9:10 NIV
10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Judges 6:11-12 NIV
11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

Judges 6:13 NIV
13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

A lack of peace causes us to settle for survival when God made us for victory.

Judges 6:14 NIV
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

Judges 6:15 NIV
15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

Judges 6:16 NIV
16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

Who do we believe we are?

Judges 6:16 NIV
16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

Judges 6:17 NIV
17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.

Judges 6:23 NIV
23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

Judges 6:24 NIV
24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

True peace isn’t the absence of problems. it’s the presence of Jehovah-Shalom.

Peace isn’t something we achieve, but Someone we know.

The problem isn’t that we have problems. The problem is that we think our problems are the problem!

Philippians 4:7 NIV
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 26:3 NIV
3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

True peace isn’t the absence of problems. it’s the presence of Jehovah-Shalom.

If your peace depends on your circumstances, you’re always going to be on a roller coaster.

Jehovah-Shalom

Stop letting your problems define you, and start letting Jehovah Shalom redefine you.

Identify one specific area in your life where you’re lacking peace. Set aside 5 minutes each day for the next week to invite Jehovah Shalom into that situation.