(by pastor Jean)

When you read the news these days you could easily get very depressed and fearful and then combine that with your own challenges and trials that you might be going through and it would be easy to lose your peace. When we find ourselves getting overwhelmed with these types of emotions it means we are meditating more on the fearful things than we are on what God has to say. I don’t say that in a condemning or judgmental way because we are all guilty of that at times. But what exactly does God have to say? For one thing, He bequeathed His peace to us, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the gift I give is a gift the world cannot give so don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27; NLT). One of the names of God is Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is peace (Judges 6:24). Shalom means completeness, soundness, welfare, peace with God and man, nothing missing, nothing broken. Jesus Himself is called the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6). If you have accepted Jesus into your heart that peace is what you carry on the inside of you. Jesus said that we could cast our burdens on Him (Matt 11:28). The apostle Paul said to, “be anxious for nothing” (Phil 4:6). If you find yourself feeling troubled or fearful start reading, meditating and confessing all the scriptures you can find on peace. Get your focus back on the Prince of Peace; take anxious thoughts captive and replace them with God’s word. You might have to do this over and over each day but keep at it, the victory is yours (John 16:33).