This morning, we are jumping into part five of our series “The Names of God.”

So far in the series, we have looked at the power of a name and also four revealed names of God.

Once again, the baseline of this series was understanding the power of a name. A name conveys more than a label or a title. They reveal essential qualities about the one who bears the name. When it comes to the names of God, they signify honor, express His power and authority, along with His nature, His character, and His function.

He has revealed Himself as:
• Jehovah Jireh “The Lord Who Sees/Provides”. He sees every need before it arises and responds according to His covenant character.
• Jehovah Rapha “The Lord Our Healer”. He brings healing to the total man, Spirit, Soul, and Body.
• Jehovah Tsidkenu “The Lord Our Righteousness”. He took our sin and gave us righteousness, our shame and gave us acceptance, our condemnation and gave us freedom, our death and gave us life, and our judgment and gave us grace. He has not asked us to perform, but to receive.
• Jehovah Nissi “The Lord our Banner”. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, we have received victory. We replace effort with surrender. We don’t have to rely on personal hustle, grit, or self-reliance. Instead, we lift up the name of Jesus.

Today, we continue in the series with the name Jehovah Shalom, “The Lord Our Peace”.

To truly grasp the depth of this name, we must look beyond our modern, Western definition of peace, which usually just means the absence of noise, conflict, or trouble. The Hebrew concept of Shalom is rich, and it serves as an anchor for the believer’s life today.

The Hebrew concept of Shalom includes wholeness, completeness, safety, well-being, harmony, restoration, prosperity, security, and inner rest.

It is all-encompassing; when applied to physical conditions, it means health; when applied to material circumstances, it means prosperity, good harvest, and fertility. In personal relationships, shalom describes wholeness of relationship, and connection marked by goodwill and harmony.

The shalom of God isn’t merely emotional comfort. It is restoration of your entire being, spiritually, relationally, and materially. Biblically, shalom describes life functioning as God intended. God’s peace is not merely emotional calmness but the restoration of order where chaos has entered.

The name Jehovah Shalom is revealed in the book of Judges 6. It is the story of Gideon. Let me give you a quick overview of the story to set the stage for when Gideon declares the name Jehovah Shalom.
Gideon’s story is one of many in the time of the Judges in Israel. The book begins with the remaining conquest of Israel to possess the land promised by God. In Chapter Two, Joshua and all the people who served with Joshua have now died.

After their death, Judges 2:10 says, “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.”

The children of Israel did evil before the Lord by forsaking his covenant by bowing down to worship the gods of the people of the land. As a result, God delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies (Judges 2:14).

Even though they turned away from God’s commands, He would still be moved to pity and raise up judges to deliver them.

So throughout the Book of Judges, we see this persistent cycle of wickedness, turning away, oppression, and deliverance.
When it comes to Gideon, the Israelites are under the brutal oppression of the Midianites. Part of the oppression is that the Midianites routinely destroyed their crops and livestock.

As a result, the children of Israel are greatly impoverished and hiding in caves. The story picks up Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress to hide from the Midianites.

A general overtone of Gideon’s life that you see in the story is that he is full of fear, doubt, and insecurity. At the beginning of His story, Gideon has an encounter with the Angel of the Lord, and the Lord tells him that he will deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites.

Gideon’s response to this word from the Lord was one of doubt.

After this word from the Lord, Gideon still doubts and asks for a sign that it is indeed the Lord speaking to him. He prepares an offering, sets it before the Lord, and the Lord causes fire to come up out of a rock and consume the offering.

After this happens, the Lord departs from his sight. Gideon realizes it was the Angel of the Lord. He is immediately filled with fear, thinking he will die because he has seen the Lord. The Lord’s response is seen in

Judges 6:23 “Then the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.”

Gideon builds an altar to the Lord and calls it Jehovah Shalom: The Lord is Peace.

I want you to catch something important here about this name. It wasn’t the Lord has peace. He declared the Lord is peace. Peace isn’t the absence of fear or problems; it’s the understanding of who is with you.

This revelation of God came before Gideon ever faced the Midianites in battle. Gideon’s peace came from God’s presence, not a peaceful environment.

What is powerful to me about this story is that Gideon’s greatest battle was not external; it was internal. Before God dealt with Midian, He dealt with Gideon’s fear, insecurity, self-image, and doubts. Gideon saw himself as weak, inadequate, and unqualified. God saw him as a mighty man of valor.

Sometimes it’s not our circumstances that need to change, it’s the place of our focus. God’s peace begins when we agree with God’s perspective rather than our own fears.

For Gideon, peace comes from God’s presence and alignment with His perspective. His circumstances had not yet changed. The Midianites were still present, the oppression was still real, and the battle had not yet been fought, but he was flooded with peace because of who was with him.

What do we need to learn about this: God’s peace is rooted in His presence, not in favorable conditions. God’s command to Gideon was fear not, I will be with you.

The key observation from this is that before he could lead Israel, God had to confront the fear inside of him. To be effective, the anxiety, worry, hesitation, self-doubt, and intimidation had to go. Jehovah Shalom addresses each of these areas by helping us understand that God is greater than the problem.

How can I find peace in difficult times?

Finding peace during difficult times centers on redirecting your focus and releasing control. Rather than remaining anxious, you can present your concerns to God through prayer and gratitude, and in doing so experience “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” that will protect your heart and mind through Christ.

This peace operates differently than worldly comfort—it’s a gift Jesus offers that doesn’t function as the world provides it, and it works to calm your troubled and fearful heart.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

The pathway to this peace involves two interconnected practices.
• First, anchor your thoughts on God’s character and trustworthiness. When your mind stays focused on God, and you trust in him, he maintains you in perfect peace. (Isa 26:3)
• Second, transfer your burdens rather than carrying them alone. You can place your load on the Lord, and he will sustain you. (Ps 55:22) By casting all your anxieties on God, you acknowledge that he cares for you. (1 Pet 5:7)

Remember that difficulty doesn’t indicate abandonment. God serves as your refuge and strength, actively present in trouble.

The story of Gideon reminds us that problems, difficulties, and battles will exist in our lives, but the Lord will continue to be with us as, Jehovah Shalom: “The Lord Our Peace”.