First Notes: The Lord Our Peace

Dear First Baptist Family,

In early 2025, a 67-year-old hiker named Grant Gunderson fell into a steep ravine on Mount Tamalpais in California. With no way out and darkness closing in, he faced the kind of situation that would send most people into panic. But Grant later said, "I was never afraid because I knew that God was going to help me get rescued." 

So he simply prayed and waited — calm in the dark — while a 40-person search and rescue team worked through the night to find him. 

It was nearly twelve hours before they did. When he finally made it home, he said, "I feel like God has blessed me with a second chance to make a difference for Him in this life."

That is the witness of Jehovah-Shalom — the Lord our Peace (Judges 6:24). Not the absence of danger, but the presence of a God whose peace transcends it.

We see Jehovah-Shalom also giving people peace in the New Testament through Jesus, who Himself is the “Prince of Peace.” Mark 4 and 5 reveal what that name truly means in practice.

Peace Over Fear

When a furious storm swept over the Sea of Galilee, the disciples found Jesus asleep in the stern — seemingly indifferent while waves crashed over the sides of the boat. Their cry was raw and honest: "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

Perhaps you've prayed something similar. In the middle of a raging storm — financial, relational, physical — God can feel distant, even asleep. 

But Jehovah-Shalom was never absent. With a single word, Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" — and the sea lay down like a scolded child.

The God of peace doesn't panic. He speaks, and chaos obeys.

Peace Over Confusion

After He crossed over to the farther shore, Jesus met a man so tormented that no chains could hold him. He lived among tombs, crying out day and night, utterly lost inside his own mind. His name, he said, was Legion — because he was many. Whatever held him, it had robbed him of identity, dignity, and peace.

Yet when this broken man fell before Jesus, the Lord of Peace spoke again — and where there had been chaos, there was now a man sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. 

Jehovah-Shalom restored what the storm had shattered. He does not merely quiet the outward waves; He brings order to the inward ones, too.

Peace Over Despair

Perhaps the most tender storm is the one Jairus faced. His daughter was dying — and then she was gone. The messengers delivered the news with cruel practicality: "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher anymore?"

But Jesus, overhearing, turned to that grieving father and offered the most countercultural words imaginable: "Do not fear, only believe." He walked into a house full of mourners and weeping and remained completely unshaken. He took the girl by the hand and said, "Little girl, arise." And she did.

Jehovah-Shalom enters our deepest despair not with explanations, but with presence — and then with power.

The Peace That Is a Person

In each of these storms — fear, confusion, and despair — Jesus did not offer a strategy or a system. He offered Himself. Like Grant Gunderson, alone in that dark ravine, trusting that rescue was coming, we are invited to rest in the One who governs every storm we face.

His peace is not the absence of trouble. It is the presence of the One who rules over it.

Jehovah-Shalom — the Lord is Peace.

Today, God gives you another chance to grow, worship, and serve as you follow Jesus. His peace is available to help you through whatever you're facing. So call on His name today. Apply the name Jehovah-Shalom to your biggest challenge. Let His peace fill your soul and give you strength to endure.
 
With love,

Pastor Brent McDougal

P.S. This Sunday I’m continuing to preach on the names of Jesus from Matthew’s gospel with a focus on the name “Rabbi” from Matthew 26:17-25. I hope you’ll be present for worship as we bow before Jesus, the name above every name.