GOD OUR PEACE
For a few minutes, let’s play Jeopardy. I’ll be Alex Trebeck and you be the contestants. Your category is: “God’s Names That Reveal His Character”.
Here’s how we play: I will give you an answer, then you will respond in the form of a question. For example, If I say, “It’s the name of the holy place where a lamb was caught in a thicket so Abraham could offer a sacrifice unto the Lord”, you would respond, “What is ‘The Lord Will Provide’, or, ‘What Is ‘Jehovah-Jireh’, or, What is ‘God is Our Provider’”.
First; “It’s the term Moses used to describe God’s intervention in a time of crisis when He turned bitter water into drinkable water.” (Acceptable: What is Jehovah-Rapha, or, What is God Our Healer, or, What is The LORD Who Heals?)
Next: “It’s the name given by Moses to the altar built to commemorate victory over the Amalekites.” (Acceptable: What is The LORD is my Banner, or, What is The LORD Our Banner.)
Finally: “It’s the name Gideon gave an altar which he built to commemorate the LORD’s presence and power that gave Gideon the victory and gave him the confidence he needed to keep going.” (Acceptable: What is The LORD is Peace, or, What is The LORD Our Peace?)
5 Questions about conflict in your life, and confidence in the Lord to help you deal with conflict in your life:
- How would you rate the current amount of conflict in your life?
(A little . . . Quite a bit . . . A whole lot)
- How would you rate your current level of confidence in the Lord?
(Low . . . Moderate . . . High)
- How would you feel if you had a lot of conflict in your life but not much confidence in the Lord?
(Anxious . . . Miserable . . . Angry)
- How would you feel if you had very little conflict in your life plus a moderate level of confidence in the Lord? (Calm . . . Tolerable . . . Hopeful)
- How would you feel if you had total confidence in the Lord despite having conflict in your life - whether a little, quite a bit, or a whole lot? (Content . . . Convinced . . . Peaceful)
My reason for asking these questions is to prompt you to think about any conflict in your life and to think about your level of confidence in the LORD . . . to determine what it will take for you (me, or any child of God) to experience peace.
The biblical account of his encounter with God shows that Gideon went from a low level of confidence to total confidence in the Lord and thus became a recipient of God’s peace - which empowered him to carry on despite conflicts that would arise – Judges 6:11-16 . . . (17-21) . . . 22-24 . . .
Once God’s people settled into the Promised Land, they forsook the Lord and worshipped other gods. God punished them by handing them over to their enemies. When the Israelites cried out to God, He raised up individuals to deliver His people. Unfortunately, this cycle repeated itself over and over again --- Sin and rebellion – Punishment – Repentance and deliverance – Spiritual renewal – Sin etcetera.
Would the cycle ever be broken? If so, who would break it, and what would it take for the chosen deliverer to break the cycle?
God raised up Gideon to break the cycle by letting God mold him and make him after God’s Will - to be used as God’s instrument of peace!
Gideon, like the Apostle Paul, met the LORD “face to face”, and that personal encounter changed him into a mighty warrior whose courage must have inspired his New Testament counterpart’s declaration: “If God be for us, who would dare be against us?” There is so much we could go into but . . .
We can summarize what it was that changed Gideon - turning his doubt into certainty . . . bitter situation into that which was better for him and his people . . . weak faith into unwavering trust in the Lord . . . skeptical questioning of God’s intent into an exclamation of praise and adoration. GIDEON HAD . . .
God’s Amazing Presence. “The angel of the Lord” (the pre-incarnate Christ) became visible to Gideon. And where was Gideon when the Lord appeared? He was down in the pit of despair, hid from view. Where does one go to hide from a foe (down in the dumps, behind closed doors, state of denial)?
The good news was that Gideon did not (because he could not) hide from God. Where did the Psalmist go to flee from the presence of the Lord? (Psalm 139:7 . . .)
Neither he, nor you, nor I can hide from God = even if we wanted to.
Good news for Gideon . . . the Psalmist . . . you and me. Wherever we are, there God is!
“Okay, God, now that I know you are here, let me ask you a question: Why?” Good for Gideon! He asked the right question. HOWEVER, it must have occurred to him the moment he asked the question that God had already given the answer through the prophet He had sent - (Judges 6:7-10 . . .) Consequently, there was no peace. BUT, God never left Gideon . . .
God’s Blessed Assurance. “And the Lord said, ‘I will wait’ until you return.” We like to say, “God is good – all the time.” Well, here and now . . . may we all agree, “God is patient – why can’t we be?”
Imagine asking the LORD God, creator and sustainer, whose presence and provision we depend on, to wait until we get ready! Gideon did . . . and God did. Why? God wanted Gideon, God wants us, to have His blessed assurance!
Take the time you need to pray it through, to discuss it with your closest friends, to talk it over with yourself, to weigh the truth and consequences of your decision. Just be sure you understand that God expects His people, called by His Name, to trust and obey Him. After all had been said and done, Gideon would do what God told him to do. So must we!
God’s Wonderful Peace. Once Gideon had God’s confirmation of Who He (the angel of Lord) was, and who God wanted Gideon to be, there was no further hesitation or reluctance on Gideon’s part.
Immediately the changed Gideon confessed “the LORD, He is God” . . . was possessed by the Spirit of God and therefore he was no longer afraid . . . became obsessed with the peace that only the true and living God can and will give to all who reverence the LORD God, respect Him, and regard the LORD (Jehovah God) to be the one and only God.
Thus, Gideon’s faith in God became stronger by the hour, his willingness to do the Lord’s work waxed more fervent with each passing day, his zeal for being an instrument of God’s peace lit up his life so that people noticed, were drawn to him, and wanted what Gideon had – the uncanny ability to rise above circumstances by living in God’s peace.
We all have a bit of Gideon’s DNA in us. We want to be able to say without a shadow of a doubt, “The Lord is my peace.” Jehovah-Shalom! But you know what?
Whereas our progenitor of peace Gideon experienced the presence of the pre-incarnate Christ, Christians have experienced regeneration by the incarnate Christ - who came to earth to save us, lived a life of obedience, died on the cross for our sins, was raised from the dead on the third day, ascended to the Father, lives forevermore, and whose Spirit dwells within to give us God’s peace.
Peace that Jesus gives is not necessarily the absence of trouble, although it very well might be, but rather is our confidence in Him that He is with us always! Jesus promised it; that settles it; I believe it!
Take with you wherever you go the Holy Week Promise Jesus Made to His Disciples:
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you . . . Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) Amen.
