Patti Burris

Judges 6:22-24

22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

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

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.

When the Lord told Gideon that He was sending him to save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, Gideon replied, “Pardon me, my lord, but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

Not only did the Lord save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, He did it with only 300 men! Gideon must have thought God was crazy when He told Gideon his army was to large. He must have felt that he was crazy when he faced the Midianite army with only 300 men, but he obeyed God and God gave him the victory.

Gideon faced an overwhelming battle, but he walked in the peace of the Lord, knowing that God was with him. Gideon could have run in fear. No one would have blamed him. Instead he chose to trust God to fight the battle with him. He knew God’s peace.

In my life as a single mom, there have been many times when I have struggled to feel the peace of God. I have dealt with overwhelming anger, fear, bitterness, and the list goes on. Peace alluded me, until I found my Jehovah Shalom, my God of peace. My life still gets crazy and sometimes I do still feel overwhelmed, but I know I have a God of peace who is willing to walk this out with me.

If you are feeling overwhelmed in this season of life, know that we have a God of peace willing to give us the gift of peace. All we have to do is ask!

Philippians 4:7

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

The peace of our Lord and Savior will guard our hearts and minds! If you are feeling overwhelmed today and think that peace is something that you will never attain, I encourage you to say this prayer:

Jehovah Shalom,

My God of peace! I am feeling so overwhelmed right now. I feel chaos and stress around every corner. I hunger for the peace that surpasses ALL understanding. I want that peace in my life that comes only from you. I know that it is a gift and I only need to ask and open myself up to receive. I am surrendering everything in my life that is overwhelming me and keeping me from feeling your peace. I am letting go of that control that my circumstances have on my life and I open my heart and my mind up to receive that peace that only comes from you. I accept the gift of peace and I trust you to walk this out with me. Thank you Father for the gift of peace!

Amen

If I can pray for you, or guide you along the path to peace, please contact me! I am here!