This blog is an excerpt from Knowing God: A Year of Discovering Who God Is | Volume 1.

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Week 11 Day 2: Yahweh-Shalom in Anxiety

Read Psalm 4.

King David likely had many anxious, sleepless nights throughout his life.

From King Saul relentlessly hunting him down to the many years of war he faced, David surely knew what it was like to lie awake, his mind racing with worries. Despite the frequent affliction David endured as Israel’s leader, David declares in Psalm 4 that he can lie down and sleep in peace only because of God’s presence. David’s words in Psalm 4 show that we can call out to Yahweh-shalom in the midst of stressful circumstances.

Psalm 4 is a lament, or a song sung by someone in distress. Like most psalms of lament, David begins with a plea to God, asking for his prayer to be heard in the midst of his pain (Psalm 4:1). Yet David knows he’s not alone in his affliction. He reminds those who cause his pain that God will hear this prayer (Psalm 4:3). God is the One who will defend David against their advances, and He is also the One who provides David with joy that goes beyond even that of those who have great prosperity (Psalm 4:7). Even in the midst of life-threatening circumstances, Yahweh-shalom grants David peace-filled sleep (Psalm 4:8).

The words of Psalm 4 remind us of Jesus’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, where He laments much like David did. Considering the suffering that awaited Him on the cross, Jesus pleads, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). Yet Jesus knew His Father as David did—as the only One who can provide genuine peace. Thus, Jesus can still declare, “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Despite the suffering the next twenty-four hours held for Him, Jesus submits to His Father’s will and experiences the kind of peace David describes in Psalm 4:8.

Only Yahweh-shalom can grant genuine peace, and He did just that for us through Jesus’s act of peaceful submission at the cross. We were helpless in our sin, but through faith in Jesus, “we have peace with God” (Romans 5:1). And because God has provided peace by reuniting us with Him, we can have confidence that He will provide genuine peace even in the challenging circumstances of our lives.

God can handle even your most difficult thoughts and feelings. You can be honest with God when you long for your circumstances to change, just like Jesus was honest with His Father. You are invited to join both David and Jesus in their confidence in God’s character as the One who provides genuine peace on His terms through His sovereign will and loving hand. Whether you face sleepless nights, financial struggles, or even war, as David did, you can honestly and earnestly call out to Yahweh-shalom.

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Related Resources:

Knowing God Spiral Bundle		It Is Well | Anxiety Bible Study		Meditations for Anxiety
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