WHEN GOD BECOMES JEHOVAH SHALOM, THE GOD OF PEACE, IN YOUR LIFE, HE DOESN’T JUST SOOTHE YOUR EMOTIONS. HE WILL LEAD YOU WITH HIS PEACE.

10/05/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
Judges 6:14, NLT

THE PROBLEM WITH RUNNING AWAY
Gideon was hiding from the enemy when an angel told him he was to lead the Israelites in battle, that he was a mighty man of fearless courage. Down deep, Gideon knew the call of God was on his life, that greatness was in him, but he was at a decision point. Was he going to let fear, insecurity, and an “I’m not qualified” mind-set keep him from his destiny? Was he going to confront his fears or just stay comfortable in hiding? Gideon stopped running, faced his fears, confronted his insecurity, and became a hero of faith.

You can’t become all you were created to be when you run from things that are hard. It’s uncomfortable to deal with your temper, your insecurity, or to forgive someone who hurt you, but don’t shrink back because it’s hard. The problem with running is it doesn’t go away. Before you can move forward, you have to deal with it. Don’t go ten years living below your potential because you didn’t want to do the hard thing.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You for Your call on my life to rise up, to wake up the greatness You put in me. Thank You that I am not limited by fear or insecurity or by feelings of being unqualified that have been passed down through my family. I am going to confront the things that are hard and move forward. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

When God becomes Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace, in your life, He doesn’t just soothe your emotions. He will lead you with His peace.

For example, you may be making some decisions at your work, for your children, or perhaps even where and when to travel for your vacation. Talk to Jesus about it. He will lead and guide you with His peace.

If there is peace from the Lord, go with that decision. If there is an absence of peace and you feel a sense of restraint, back away from it.

You will find that guidance from the Lord comes very easily when God manifests Himself as Jehovah Shalom. In His peace, decisions don’t feel forced and full of strife. In His peace, there is a rest. His peace will guide you supernaturally to be at the right place, at the right time, with the right people.

After our Lord called Gideon a man of valor, his response was: “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (Judg. 6:13).

Doesn’t Gideon remind us of ourselves? Instead of hearing what the Lord had just called him, he began to complain. “Why has the Lord forsaken us?”

Astoundingly, the Lord simply turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” (Judg. 6:14).

What? First, the Lord Jesus calls this man who is in hiding “a man of valor.” Now, He calls this complaining man, who is mad at God, to go in that might of his and save Israel? Shouldn’t it be, “Be gone from My presence, you stinking complainer, I must have found the wrong guy”?

I am so glad that the Lord is not like you and me. He always calls the things that are not as though they are (Rom. 4:17).

And I believe that as you receive a revelation of how the Lord is the God of peace in your life, you may be fearful and complaining now, but like Gideon, God will send you to be a testimony of His protection. He will send you to all your friends, coworkers, and loved ones who are bound by fear, and He will use you to deliver them from fear!