God Is Our Shalom
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV)
How do we handle the anxiety that grows between our expectations and our reality?
My first memory of true anxiety occurred during my senior year of high school. I worked hard for perfection: all A’s, student government, tennis team, math team, friends, applying for scholarships. I had high expectations for myself and for my future. But with my bar set so high, I started to feel intensely overwhelmed.
It felt like a tornado of emotions and circumstances that were well beyond my control. I started missing assignments because I couldn’t keep up. My fuse became even shorter, and I snapped at the people closest to me. Sleep was elusive. I bit my fingernails down to nubs. I started to feel helpless and hopeless. I didn’t have a label for it at the time, but now I can name it: anxiety.
My solution? I got a planner. I started making lists and charting my pathway to peace. I diligently wrote my assignment dates and planned out steps to complete them on time. I became an organized machine of a student. I even had a calendar for prayer requests, so I would not miss praying for God to bless all the things I had planned for him to bless.
Fast-forward twenty-five years, and replace all the senior year expectations with grown-up expectations. Getting three kids to three different schools, extra-curriculars, work, housework. And I have to feed these people every day! I also have the pressure of training them, monitoring their online activities, and watching for the signs of the same anxiety that I experienced in high school. It’s easy for that swirling anxiety tornado from 1996 to start wreaking havoc again in 2021.
My planner is still my go-to coping mechanism for anxiety. Every Sunday, I sit down with it and my colored pens in an effort to establish some sort of control over my circumstances. I make a strategic plan to help me control the outcomes and meet my lofty expectations.
Is Control the Pathway to Peace?
My anecdote for fear and anxiety is control. I turn to my color-coded planner for control. What is your favorite control strategy? Do you have labeled storage bins in every room and a rigid cleaning schedule to control your environment? Do you micromanage your kids’ activities and homework assignments to meet the expectations you set for them (because if you can’t control your life, at least you can control theirs)? Maybe you work hard to control the narrative of your life with carefully crafted social media posts.
We even try to control God. Skye Jethani says, “Fear and control are the basis for all human religion.” We try to follow all the rules so that God will work circumstances in our favor. In the midst of my year of the calendar, I also tried to live right in an attempt to control the story God was writing for my life. I thought If I do all the things I’m supposed to, I will get into the right college, marry the right man, have the most well-behaved children who like to wear smocked dresses and big bows. That’s not how it works.
Spiritual disciplines are not inherently bad, but when we use them to manipulate God, in order to control God, we get everything mixed up and in the wrong order. God is not our pathway to peace; he is our peace.
When we are anxious or afraid, we seek control to reduce those fears. Be it controlling our schedule, our environment, our public narrative, or trying to control God—we cannot control things enough to meet expectations and eliminate our fears.
God Promises Peace
We can’t eliminate our fear and anxiety with control, but God offers us peace in the chaos. He replaces our unmet expectations with his presence.
In his farewell discourse, Jesus brought a message of peace. In John 14-16, between the last supper and his arrest in the garden, Jesus speaks to the disciples’ unmet expectations with a promise for the peace of God’s presence.
The disciples expected a revolution that would liberate the Jews from Roman control. Their Old Testament history was full of battles that freed the nation of Israel from captivity and fear of other nations. (Think Moses bringing them out of Egypt, Joshua and the Battle of Jericho, David and Goliath.) Their culture provided the narrative of a Messiah that would take over the earthly throne once again. But instead of a majestic king sitting on the throne, they got Jesus, a lowly servant stooping low to wash their feet.
He started his gentle instructions with these words: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.” (John 14:1 NIV) The man they expected to rule Israel just dried his hands from washing their feet. This was not what they expected. Jesus invited them to believe in him, the Son of God, just as they would believe God. Even though he was not what they expected, he is God. He is trustworthy. They witnessed and experienced this for three years—all of the miracles, the multiplied loaves, the compassion he showed toward the marginalized and outcast.
In John 16:33, Jesus continued to replace their expectations with a promise: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (NIV).
Jesus began his final discourse with an invitation for an untroubled heart that believes in him. Then he gave them peace. The Greek word for peace is shalom. Shalom is wholeness, completeness, lacking nothing. Shalom is not merely the absence of conflict but a right relationship with God.
How would the disciples have this shalom when Jesus was about to be crucified, buried, resurrected, and ascend to heaven? He was leaving; wouldn’t he take his peace with him? How could this be considered completeness?
Jesus promised shalom, not in spite of this, but because of it—his death, resurrection, ascension.
Jesus removed every barrier between man and God.
Shalom.
All that Jesus endured means a right relationship with God.
Shalom.
When Jesus returned to heaven, he sent his Spirit, who is the very presence of God, with us at all times.
Shalom.
The totality of God’s light shining on us with no shadows.
Shalom.
God is not something we control in order to get peace; he is our peace. Our Shalom.
Jesus didn’t promise the absence of complicated circumstances or the removal of all the fears. He didn’t promise to fulfill all of their expectations. He replaced those expectations with a promise of the unfiltered, unhindered, unblemished presence of God.
God is not our pathway to peace, he is our peace. Our Shalom. This is his invitation to us today. He comes to our chaos, our anxiety, our runaway emotions. He removed every barrier between God and us. He closes the distance between our unmet expectations and our reality with his peace. He holds out his hand and asks us, “Believe in God, believe also in me.” In your moments of trouble, he says, “Peace be with you.” Shalom.
O Lord Jesus, we thank you for coming to us and bridging the distance between us and God. You showed us immeasurable love. Let this truth overwhelm us, that we may not feel the heavy burden of our anxieties and disappointments. May your presence bring us shalom. Amen.
Scripture for Reflection
“Cast all your anxiety on him for he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 NIV
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
Reach for More
God’s shalom offers spiritual guidance for our anxieties, however we can also benefit from the support of a trusted friend, therapist, or doctor to provide mental and physical assistance for anxiety. Anxiety can affect your moods, sleep, eating habits, and productivity. If your anxiety feels too big, please ask for help. Just as Jesus reminded the disciples of his peace multiple times (John 20:19, 21, 26), we benefit from reminders. Having a trusted person in our lives to coach us through anxiety isn’t weakness; it helps us find strength.
is a small town girl who married a small town man. They have three children. In the quiet minutes of her day, you will find her at the keyboard or curled up with a book–always with coffee. Kelly believes we are created for community and loves to find ways to connect with other women who are walking in the shadow of the cross. She blogs at mrsdisciple.com.
Photograph © Taylor Wright, used with permission
