I snapped this picture back in 2021.
I always say I’m going to sit outside and only paint clouds for a month; they move too fast so I just snap pics instead lol. You can see the different sheets of rain. It was coming down hard on the left. Then it was clear in the middle and just a bit of rain on the right. The folks who were experiencing the weather in the middle probably had no idea what kind of weather was around them. Kind of a neat weather phenomenon I suppose. I tucked the photo in my ‘one day I’ll paint that’ album on my phone.
John 16:33 says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
We all know this world is in deep tribulation; at least tribulation as we know it. Sickness, pain, death, and uncertainty are ALL over the place. You don’t have to watch or read the news to know it’s there; it’s that uneasy feeling that you get when you wake up at 3am and you don’t know why but you just have this ‘feeling’ that something is not right.
Jesus tells us throughout Scripture that we WILL have those tribulations. There will be times when we ache and hurt for ourselves and for each other. He also tells us that He will give us PEACE.
I looked up the word, ‘Shalom’, in the Bible. Shalom is the Hebrew word for ‘peace’. The Bible is FULL of the word ‘peace’; that in and of itself should bring us peace, right? Shalom is prophesied about in Isaiah and Jeremiah when it talks of the coming of Christ. It is fulfilled when we read in John of the death, burial, & resurrection of Jesus. Scripture also talks about the kind of shalom to have with each other and shalom with God.
Paul is clear in Philippians 4:4-7 when he tells us we can have Shalom within, even in the midst of tribulations.
He says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the PEACE (the SHALOM) of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
So, my friends, let’s stay vigilant in these tribulations and fill our hearts with the shalom and promises of God. We can have that shalom in the midst of the ‘weather’ around us because God has already overcome everything and His shalom is eternal!
