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On the evening this record arctic blast in Texas was to begin, I admit I was feeling a measure of angst. There have been so many disruptions of our normal this past year, they have almost become our normal. My faith and hope have been strong for the most part, but this particular evening I needed His peace. I went to my middle bedroom where I like to read and study. It’s a comfortable room, warm and inviting.

I sat in a very cozy upholstered rocker that was my dad’s. The lighting is good with a lamp beside my chair. I put a large pillow in my lap for warmth and for an elevated desk-like space to read and write. I had begun a study of the names of God. I opened the Bible study that night and turned to the next topic. You guessed it, Yahweh Shalom! Isn’t God perfect?

Yahweh Shalom means “The Lord is Peace,” and is found in the book of Judges, 6:24. We also learn from the Word that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. In John 14:27 NIV, the Lord Himself speaks, “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.”

Many anxieties, disruptions, unfamiliar territories, threats, and shakings have been thrown at us. Almost everything we know has been shaken. But one thing can never be shaken. His Word. His Word teaches His character, through His names, as well as through His workings.

The word, Shalom, is so much more than an inner calm, an absence of turbulence, or absence of war. It includes a wholeness or completeness in every area of our life: body, soul, mind, and spirit. The Lord God created us for peace. When it is absent in our lives, we feel shaken and uneasy. So how do we stand firm in our faith and confidence, in peace?

I closed my eyes and lay my head back on the rocker and prayed to the Father. “Lord God, You are peace. I desire You; I desire peace. How do I receive and hold on to this peace?” He answered in my spirit, “My presence.” So, I simply asked. “I desire Your presence, Lord. Thank You, Lord, for Your presence with me, and Your presence in me. Let Your presence rest on me.”

Like a blanket, He gently covered me with His peace. I felt it roll over me and fill the space between me and the air. Every anxious thought left, no questions remained, just, perfect peace. Certainty that He would keep me. Oh, the wonder of His ways, His great love, and His tender care. We don’t earn it; it’s who He is, His names, His character. Just let go of your own thinking, of the words of the world. Listen to His words, His truth, His call to you. He says, “Come unto Me.” Experience His presence, desire His presence, rest in His presence, as His presence rests on you.

Resting in Him as we look toward Him, steadies us – it stops the shaking.

In His care, Bebe