Prioritizing Peace

I looked at the door with the boarded-up window. The glass had been smashed in; belongings stolen. I held my pre-school aged daughter in my arms and looked at my pre-school aged son looking around curiously. He asked me questions like “why would someone break in to our house?” “Why did they take my piggy bank.”

Our kids had a hard time sleeping for awhile after that, thinking about someone coming into our house. My husband was researching security systems and other ways to keep us safe.

Our peace had been shattered. Our safety taken away in an instant. Fear replaced it. Every noise in the night held a different feeling. When we went to work each day, we wondered if it would happen again.

Unfortunately, our identities were stolen in the robbery (passports, birth certificates, social security cards) for all of us, including my kids. There is now a shadow of “What if” that still follows us around years later. Someone could still have the info and use it against our kids. We have a lot of security things in place, but the what if remains.

John 14:27 tells us to take heart because “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. In Judges 6:24 God is referred to as Jehovah-Shalom: God Our Peace.

How do I make sure that the peace of God overrides my loss of security? How do I replace the fear I feel with his peace?

When I picture the peace of God I picture someone sitting in the middle of a tornado. The wind is throwing things around and it is really loud and dark. The chaos of a tornado. This person is just reclining calmly reading their Bible, not deterred by the tornado. They know that it doesn’t really matter what this world throws around, ultimately, they look to God to lead the way forward. When I feed my life with his Word, his peace overrides the tornado.

The world is chaotic and hard. I wish I could say you wouldn’t have any hardship. I can’t sugar coat some of the things that have happened in your life. Things that have likely left you reeling and uncertain. However, Jehovah Shalom promises us his peace. His never-ending, always enduring peace.

1 John 5:4 says ^“For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. ⁵ And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

My husband and I have had to work hard on prioritizing this peace. It is easy to let our feelings of fear push it to the side. I’ll be honest that there are times when fear has taken priority. We’ve had to fight to put it back in its place. I remind myself that fear doesn’t get the last word. Jehovah Shalom has already spoken.

Psalm 29