{"id":312816,"date":"2025-02-24T04:29:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T09:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/unleashing-peace-jeremiah-johnston\/"},"modified":"2025-02-24T13:01:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T18:01:16","slug":"unleashing-peace-jeremiah-johnston","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/unleashing-peace-jeremiah-johnston\/","title":{"rendered":"Unleashing Peace: Jeremiah Johnston"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you hungering for peace from God but have no idea how to get there? Scholar and author Jeremiah Johnston points the way to uncovering shalom in every area of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hungering for peace from God\u2014with no idea how to get there? Scholar and author Jeremiah Johnston points the way to uncovering shalom in every area of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47000,"featured_media":312833,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/traffic.omny.fm\/d\/clips\/cbd16f10-ac60-4f09-b4df-b15400ce35aa\/33aaac7e-3581-4e21-a3df-b154011ba58c\/b040fdf0-54f4-40de-a062-b282013e3fff\/audio.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:26:57","filesize":"24.71M","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"2025-02-24 04:29:20","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822],"tags":[],"podcast_series":[8571],"cwp_profile":[9809],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-312816","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","podcast_series-jeremiah-johnston-unleashing-peace","cwp_profile-jeremiah-johnston","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2025\/02\/Jeremiah-Johnston-1cover.jpg?w=1024","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/312816\/unleashing-peace-jeremiah-johnston","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/312816\/unleashing-peace-jeremiah-johnston","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"5V4KuCsCDZ\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/unleashing-peace-jeremiah-johnston\/\">Unleashing Peace: Jeremiah Johnston<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/unleashing-peace-jeremiah-johnston\/embed\/#?secret=5V4KuCsCDZ\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Unleashing Peace: Jeremiah Johnston&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"5V4KuCsCDZ\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2025\/02\/Jeremiah-Johnston-1cover.jpg",1024,1024,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Margaret","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/margaret-coylefamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Hungering for peace from God\u2014with no idea how to get there? Scholar and author Jeremiah Johnston points the way to uncovering shalom in every area of life.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"<ul>\n<li>The mission from Jeremiah Johnston with creating <a href=\"https:\/\/christianthinkers.com\/\">Christian Thinkers Society<\/a> is to teach Christians to become Thinkers and Thinkers to Become Christians.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product\/unleashing-peace\/\">Get his book, \"Unleashing Peace\" in our FamilyLife shop<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Find resources from this podcast at <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/Products.aspx?categoryid=130\">shop.familylife.com<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Find more content and resources on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/app\/\">FamilyLife's app<\/a>!<\/li>\n<li>Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303\">Apple Podcast<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm?si=d6dfa8d2415f4750\">Spotify<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Check out all the FamilyLife podcasts on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/familylife-podcast-network\/\">FamilyLife Podcast Network<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2025-02-24.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>FamilyLife Today\u00ae with Dave and Ann Wilson - Web Version Transcript<\/p>\n<p>This content has been generated by an artificial intelligence language model. While we strive for accuracy and quality, please note that the information provided will most likely not be entirely error-free or up-to-date. We recommend independently verifying the content with the originally-released audio. This transcript is provided for your personal use and general information purposes only. References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the use or interpretation of this content.<\/p>\n<p>Unleashing Peace<\/p>\n<p>Guest:Jeremiah Johnston<\/p>\n<p>From the series:Unleashing Peace (Day 1 of 2)<\/p>\n<p>Air date:February 24, 2025<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: The peace of God will always come when I have a plan.<\/p>\n<p>I have sat across from businesspeople, highly successful\u2014they can tell you their retirement accounts, their stock accounts; they have financial plans\u2014but they don\u2019t have the peace plan. The world has a prescription for peace that will absolutely destroy our lives. Jesus has this prescription for peace in our lives that enriches it, and it is called shalom.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Welcome to FamilyLife Today, where we want to help you pursue the<\/p>\n<p>relationships that matter most. I'm Dave Wilson.<\/p>\n<p>Ann:And I'm Ann Wilson. And you can find us at FamilyLifeToday.com. This is FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: So one of the most anxious moments of my life\u2014do you remember?\u2014do you know where I\u2019m going to go?<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes, I totally know where you are going.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I had pneumonia. Go back after antibiotics to get another chest X-ray, just to make sure it is all clear. The doctor\u2014he\u2019s just an MD\u2014he says to me, \u201cYou need to go see a pulmonary specialist.\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cWhat are you talking about?!\u201d He goes, \u201cJust give this guy a call.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I call this guy, and they get me in like the next day. I drive in there\u2014and I\u2019ll never forget\u2014I\u2019m sitting on a doctor\u2019s table. He pulls up my X-ray\u2019; he goes, \u201cHey, this isn\u2019t good news; you\u2019ve got cancer.\u201d I go, \u201cWhat?!\u201d He goes, \u201cThere are spots all through your lungs. I don\u2019t know if it is malignant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll never forget\u2014I looked at him, and I go, \u201cI don\u2019t have cancer!\u201d\u2014he goes, \u201cOh, really?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cI feel great; I\u2019m playing basketball. I\u2019m in great shape.\u201d He goes, \u201cWell, I\u2019m the doctor, and you\u2019re the patient. Trust me\u2014you have some form of cancer\u2014we need to find out. You need to drive home, talk to your wife, and make a decision.\u201d I\u2019m driving home.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I wasn't with you because we didn't think it was that big of a deal.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014and we had little kids.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I think we had an infant. We had three of our boys, and they were all five and<\/p>\n<p>under.<\/p>\n<p>Dave:And I'm driving home. Halfway home, I'm like, \u201cI don't have cancer.\u201d And then, the second half, I'm like, \u201cOh my goodness; I might have cancer.\u201d You talk about anxiety: as soon as I stepped in the door, and saw Ann, I just started crying. I grabbed you.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: We fell on our little La-Z-Boy\u00ae chair. You just started crying with me. I\u2019ll never forget\u2014you go\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I was sitting on your lap. It\u2019s unusual for you to cry like that.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Do you remember the moment, though? You go, \u201cSo what are we crying about?\u201d I go, \u201cHe just said I have cancer.\u201d You\u2019re like, \u201cAHH!\u201d\u2014we start crying like double. Anyway, that was a moment.<\/p>\n<p>For two weeks, we did not know. And obviously, I'm sitting here\u2014I'll never forget\u2014a specialist said, \u201cDid you ever live in San Bernardino?\u201d I'm like, \u201cYeah, I went to seminary in San Bernardino.\u201d He goes, \u201cWell, there's cases where people get spots in their lungs from the smog there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014from the scar tissue it creates.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Anyway, that was pretty much the diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p>Ann:But it was terrible.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: To live with that kind of anxiety\u2014I mean, here I am; and it was only a couple of weeks\u2014is what a lot of people live with daily.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes; I think, Dave, too, I think back then, life seemed a little simpler, even though that diagnosis\u2014what they were saying was so traumatic\u2014I\u2019m thinking of the days we are living in now,\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Oh, yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014where so many have lost loved ones through the pandemic. You know, there are wars; there are rumors of wars; there are so many things going on. Our kids are suffering with this\u2014with anxiety\/depression; we, as parents, are struggling with that\u2014so it\u2019s something that I think we really need help with.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I mean, everybody is looking for peace.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Right.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: We\u2019ve got Dr. Jeremiah Johnston in the FamilyLife studio today. Welcome to FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Dave and Ann, it is so great to be with you. I feel like we\u2019re fast friends already.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I do too.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: You\u2019re sitting over there, \u201cYes.\u201d [Laughter] As you hear that story, what are you thinking?<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: You know what? My heart goes out to you; because we\u2019ve all had those moments, where we have to go beyond the bumper-sticker theology; and it\u2019s rubber-meets-the-road Christianity, where, \u201cLord, are You really there?\u201d You pray those prayers like Hezekiah prayed, and others\u2014I\u2019m thinking, even, about Habakkuk right now, \u201cGod, are You dead?\u201d\u2014we all pray way too religiously by the way. We need to pray like the prophets and the psalmists prayed: \u201cLord, are You really there in this moment?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the great thing for people listening to us right now\u2014that\u2019s why Christianity is true\u2014it meets us at our deepest, darkest moments, and our most intense battles\/our most intense questions. That\u2019s why I wanted to write a book on shalom: on how we can experience the peace\/the shalom of God, because we talk about it a lot; and yet, it seems so elusive, especially, in those defining moments.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes; so you travel around the country. You\u2019re president of Christian Thinkers. There are more letters behind your name than any\u2014Dr., MA\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: PhD, MDiv. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014but you really help people answer the tough questions.<\/p>\n<p>You are down here in Orlando, with your wife and five kids.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: That\u2019s right; yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: So you\u2019re probably exhausted right now; you\u2019ve got triplet boys.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: We\u2019ve got triplets. All you need to know about me is I\u2019m the over-stressed father of multiples. I haven\u2019t slept in six years.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a blessing to answer these questions because, in my mind\/for me, it\u2019s all about being a follower of Jesus. If everything I say is true about the Bible, and the Scriptures, and Jesus our Savior and God\u2014the God of the Bible\u2014He can take our most difficult questions.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s been amazing, Dave and Ann\u2014and I\u2019ve been doing this now for a minute\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: How long? How long?<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: I\u2019ve received thousands of questions. We started Christian Thinkers over a decade ago\u2014all different denominations, not just in the United States; in Canada and the United Kingdom as well\u2014this is my number-one question\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: What?<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: \u2014from believers: the whole question of anxiety, depression, mental illness, mental pain\u2014as C.S. Lewis called it\u2014he struggled with it. J.B. Phillips struggled with it. As a church, we have not done a good enough job answering this question.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible has so much to say about how we think, and about what we feel, and how we can process emotions. I just wanted to get beyond the bumper-sticker theology. And also, I have experienced\u2014news flash\u2014anxiety in my own life; we all have. Anxiety isn\u2019t dangerous. I had heard some stuff, even from pulpits, that I would basically equate to spiritual malpractice about not really ministering and helping people with what the Bible actually says. You are not a second-rate Christian if you\u2019ve struggled with depression or anxiety. Medicine is a gift from God. We need to establish a peace plan for our lives.<\/p>\n<p>As a PhD, I know a lot about a little, Dave\u2014that\u2019s what I tell\u2014\u201cI know a lot about a little.\u201d The little I happen to know a lot about is the Gospels and Jesus, Ann. So Jesus lived in the shalom of God; He is shalom personified. We can\u2019t really understand the Christian life if we don\u2019t understand the one word that is the greatest descriptor of the Bible. There are 760,000 words in the English Bible. If you were to ask me\u2014like if we\u2019re never going to see each other at a train station someday\u2014\u201cJeremiah, describe the Bible to me in one word,\u201d\u2014it is the word, shalom.<\/p>\n<p>I wanted to investigate that, as a Gospel scholar; and then I wanted to introduce or re-introduce believers in Jesus Christ to this term, because it is so elusive. Yet, as Christians, we need to live in a theology of shalom every day for those anxious moments like you described.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes; and I\u2019ve been preaching for 30 years. I don\u2019t think I could tell you the understanding of that word.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Right.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: So let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Absolutely; \u201cLet\u2019s dive in.\u201d You\u2019re not alone; I was there too. And so many<\/p>\n<p>believers are there, and it's so much more than a greeting. Shalom is translated<\/p>\n<p>70 different ways in the NIV Bible alone. Shalom\u2014and I want to make sure we<\/p>\n<p>understand this Hebraic understanding how Jesus would've understood shalom\u2014it<\/p>\n<p>shows up 550 times in the Bible, this word, shalom.<\/p>\n<p>We can't understand joy; we can't understand the fruit of the Spirit; we can't<\/p>\n<p>understand happiness in the Christian life; the beatitudes; that word, Asher, in Hebrew<\/p>\n<p>means \u201chappy\u201d if we don't understand the foundational message of shalom. And it's<\/p>\n<p>beautiful in the Hebraic sense. I love the Hebrew language because it's almost tangible;<\/p>\n<p>it's visual. God wants to fill you with a flourishing in your life that, even in those anxious<\/p>\n<p>moments, you can hold on, knowing that God's already holding you. You can be filled<\/p>\n<p>with the shalom of God, which is a flourishing; it's a restorative peace; it literally means:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cto lack nothing,\u201d in the Hebrew language.<\/p>\n<p>We have this tension\u2014that we can receive a diagnosis, or you can have an<\/p>\n<p>unexplained medical condition, or be dealing with grief or loss\u2014and yet, it\u2019s the tension<\/p>\n<p>that: \u201cI can still live in the shalom and the peace of God.\u201d Now, we don\u2019t get there in<\/p>\n<p>seconds; we don\u2019t get there in the time of a podcast. But what I\u2019m praying these<\/p>\n<p>programs do is simply guide believers the hand.<\/p>\n<p>We often think of the Apostle Paul. He saw the Lord, we think, at least seven times; we speculate he saw the Lord seven times. He heard the voice of Jesus in<\/p>\n<p>2 Corinthians 12\u2014His very audible words\u2014we call that oracular form. And yet, Paul was still a professional worrier.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Why do you say he was a worrier? Some people hear that; and they go, \u201cWhat?!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Yeah; this is\u2014again, we have to take the stigma away\u2014that's number one.<\/p>\n<p>And I thank God for you all being willing to do a broadcast like this; we have to remove<\/p>\n<p>the stigma of anxiety. It's there\u2014it was there in Paul's life\u2014he's a professional worrier<\/p>\n<p>because in 2 Corinthians, Chapter 2, literally, verse 13, he is in Troas. God has opened<\/p>\n<p>this huge door of ministry for him; and yet, he says, \u201cI have no peace of mind.\u201d Have<\/p>\n<p>you been there? I\u2019ve been there: \u201cLord, You\u2019ve opened this incredible door for me; and<\/p>\n<p>yet, I have no peace of mind.\u201d Seven years later, he is in Philippi in a jail cell. You<\/p>\n<p>couldn\u2019t say he had this great door opened to him; and yet, he gives us the greatest<\/p>\n<p>anti-anxiety passage in all the Bible\u2014Philippians 4\u2014\u201cBe anxious for nothing.\u201d He<\/p>\n<p>summarizes shalom in 32 English words in Philippians 4:8.<\/p>\n<p>I want to let people know, too, transformation is a process. First off, it is God\u2019s will for you to live in shalom; I don\u2019t have to question that. If you love Jesus\u2014if you have peace with God through Jesus Christ; that\u2019s the first step: Romans 5:1\u2014then it is time to experience the God of peace. But that is where my book was needed, Dave and Ann, because it\u2019s like, \u201cOkay, I get it; now, how do I get to the peace? I know I\u2019m a Christian; I know I follow Jesus as my Savior; I have peace with God through Jesus Christ, being justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d But there wasn\u2019t a roadmap for me of how to build peace in my life. That\u2019s where I wanted to investigate shalom and help people get there.<\/p>\n<p>.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Well, Jeremiah, what did that look like for you? Because I'm imagining this for a lot<\/p>\n<p>of people. Do you remember that game, Kerplunk?<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Yes, absolutely.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: They have the marbles in, and you have all these little sticks that hold it in.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: It's a great analogy.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I feel like we know, in our heads, that the Bible says, \u201cHe will give us peace,\u201d\u2014we can experience that. But if you take those marbles out, it\u2019s hard for us sometimes to get it into where we\u2019re living it; we\u2019re experiencing this peace\u2014we hear it; we know it intellectually\u2014but for you, what did that look like? You know what the Scripture says; but then, how did you start living it out? I\u2019m guessing that is your plan.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Absolutely; you're spot on. And that's such a great analogy because we've all been there\u2014again, I want to remove the stigma\u2014we know that; we sense that. And yet, this is where, as a church\u2014and I appreciate your ministry so much in this radio broadcast\u2014because there is so much skepticism out there. The skepticism is getting more sophisticated, and so we need to be more sophisticated in how we articulate our faith and how we experience it. And this whole question of peace is the number-one question, as I mentioned, that I've been asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did I get there?\u201d I realized that hope comes when I have a plan. The peace of God will always come when I have a plan. What is amazing, Dave and Ann, is I have sat across from businesspeople, highly successful\u2014they can tell you their retirement accounts, their stock accounts; they have financial plans\u2014but they don\u2019t have the peace plan. That is the great revival and outcome that is coming out of this book\u2014is people are reading it, and they are emailing me\u2014and they are saying, \u201cJeremiah, I\u2019ve just established a peace plan for my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>First, I have to understand, biblically, I can live in the shalom of God. God wants me to flourish; He wants me to lack nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, I realize Paul and others struggled with anxiety that debilitated them, so I am not alone.<\/p>\n<p>Thirdly, I have to plan for the peace of God.<\/p>\n<p>And then I wanted to help people with the very practical steps of what it looks like to live in the peace of God every single day.<\/p>\n<p>So the first step seems so elemental; and yet, it is probably the hardest. You have to start intentionally planning for peace in your life. So I am going to say, \u201cNo,\u201d to certain things for the bigger, \u201cYes,\u201d of God\u2019s peace in my life.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Every person, who\u2019s not a planner, just said, \u201cOh, no!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: \u2014which I'm in that category. I blow in, blow up, and blow out. I'm<\/p>\n<p>here with my entourage today\u2014my five kids and my amazing wife\u2014so I get that.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Are you experiencing peace in the middle of a Disney World trip?<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: You know what? No, if I'm being honest.<\/p>\n<p>This whole thing of unlocking the peace of God in our life through intentionally planning on it and, also, equipping believers with how we can then be agents of peace. One of the most important questions we can also ask ourselves: \u201cAm I bringing conflict?\u201d or \u201cAm I bringing peace in my community?\u201d In Matthew 5:19, Jesus said, \u201cBlessed are the shalom makers\/the peacemakers.\u201d Even writing a book on peace, I had to ask, \u201cLord, am I bringing conflict or peace in my family?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Again, it\u2019s amazing how the world\u2014as I evaluate, like you said, the world today\u2014wars, rumors of wars; so much turmoil. It reminds me of the prophets\u2014Jeremiah and Ezekiel\u2014they said, \u201cYou look for peace when there is no peace.\u201d The world has a prescription for peace that will absolutely destroy our lives. Jesus has this prescription for peace in our lives that enriches it, and it is called shalom. So we have to get there. That\u2019s the beauty of this book, and I think that is why God is blessing it.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: You seem to land a lot on thinking. I\u2019ve even watched you walk through Philippians 4:6-7. You know as a pastor, I have preached that many times.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It\u2019s probably one of the verses we all memorized,\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Absolutely.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014because we need it so much.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It\u2019s so practical.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: But what you did\u2014I had never seen done is\u2014it\u2019s so easy to go: \u201cPhilippians 4:6-7: \u2018Don\u2019t worry about anything; but in everything by prayer and petition\u2026let your requests be made known. And the peace of God\u201d\u2014and end there\u2014which I would love to hear your thoughts on that; but then you went to verse 8, where it talks about the mind\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Right.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014and connected what we think about to the peace we experience. Help us understand that.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Absolutely. Again, this is where it is so fun; and the Scriptures help us answer these difficult questions, Dave. And thank you for asking such great questions, both of you.<\/p>\n<p>The peace of God, according to the Christian life\/according to shalom, is anchored by one word, \u201cthinking.\u201d It is an action word; it\u2019s a verb\u2014it\u2019s logizomai\u2014it\u2019s taking into account all that is mine in Christ. The more I make myself aware of my beliefs, the more peace of God I am going to have in my life. The more aware of who God is\u2014His plan for my life and His plan is to bless me\u2014as The Four Spiritual Laws say right over here, in this building: \u201cHe has a great plan for my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, that doesn\u2019t mean it is perfection\u2014by the way, perfection is not our goal\u2014freedom is.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: That\u2019s good.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: God wants to give us freedom. Shalom\u2014an adjective I have for shalom\u2014is freedom. God wants to bring us freedom; but it is all anchored in thinking.<\/p>\n<p>I mentioned Philippians 4:8 a minute ago. Depending on which English version, it\u2019s around 32 words or 39\u2014there is only one verb, and it\u2019s \u201cthinking\u201d\u2014our peace will come when we think about certain things. As a believer in Jesus Christ, I have to get really good at mental discipline if I am going to live in the peace of God; because today, we are going to touch our phones 2,000 times; we\u2019re going to see 10,000 media messages every single day\u2014so many of them are full of lies\u2014and we have to be truth-tellers to ourselves; we have to speak truth to ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>The worst thing I can do, according to Psalm 42 and 43, is listen to my heart. My heart is desperately wicked and crazy: \u201cWho could know it?\u201d I have to speak truth to my heart, like the psalmist did in Psalm 42 and 43: \u201cWhy are you downcast my soul? Why are you disquieted within me? Take hope in God.\u201d So every day, like Jerry Bridges said, we need to preach the gospel to ourselves; we need to remind ourselves of the truth of God\u2019s Word to get through the fiction of all the lies.<\/p>\n<p>But you know, again, you all do this all the time\u2014you do this at an international level\u2014you know how many Christians are just so bogged down, and they are paralyzed by the lies; they are believing them.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I did that for years, without even realizing what I was thinking about, because I was in a habit and a pattern. Growing up, not in a Christian home, very performance-oriented\u2014so I continually told myself: \u201cYou\u2019re no good at that,\u201d \u201cYou\u2019ll never measure up at that,\u201d \u201cYou can\u2019t do that,\u201d\u2014not even aware, until I became a Christian, and I started writing down the things you say to yourself\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Right.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014throughout the day.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Right.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I wrote those down. When I saw it, I thought, \u201cNo wonder!\u201d It\u2019s exactly what you\u2019re saying, like, \u201cThis is my pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So do you do that?\u2014have you gone through with people: \u201cStart taking note of what you are thinking\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Absolutely! We have to keep better inventory of our thought life and what we focus on.<\/p>\n<p>Now, here is the thing: I can\u2019t help the crazy thoughts that come into my head. We\u2019ll have 6,000 thoughts today\u2014that\u2019s what psychologists say\u2014sometimes, I feel like I have 60,000. [Laughter] So many of them are called intrusive thoughts. The greatest thing you can do is\u2014just like a drunk guy, on the corner, screaming his head off at people, who don\u2019t even know what he is doing\u2014is ignore them. When you want to start engaging with the crazy, intrusive thoughts that come into your head, it\u2019s like poking an ant pile\u2014it just gets worse\u2014you get a swarm of them on top of one. I don\u2019t call out to them; I don\u2019t even engage them. I just stay focused on the truth.<\/p>\n<p>So living in the peace of God, for me, is about bolting my life to truth\/staying focused on the truth\u2014practicing what you said: replacement therapy\u2014replacing these lies for the truth of God and the truth of His Word. Then, also\u2014this is huge\u2014at the end of the day, when we get those calls, Dave, or those appointments like you had; because I had a totally unplanned medical procedure myself recently\u2014we have to live by faith in God\u2019s promises, not His explanations. So many of us, we want an explanation when God wants us to live on the promise.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Okay, you\u2019ve got to unpack that a little bit.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Oh, it\u2019s so hard to do, too.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: It is. And listen, I\u2019m not speaking from perfection\u2014I am speaking from experience\u2014that no one faithed explanations in the Bible; they all faithed God\u2019s promises.<\/p>\n<p>Habakkuk asked God for an explanation. When you read the 56 verses of the book of Habakkuk, we really get a window into his prayer journal; he says, \u201cGod, give me an answer: God, are you alive? Are you dead, God?\u201d God says, \u201cIf I told you what I was doing, you couldn\u2019t even handle it, Habakkuk.\u201d Habakkuk asked God, again, to give him the reason why all this was happening; and God just starts to explain, and Habakkuk passes out. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Then, in Chapter 3, Habakkuk gives us the greatest visual picture of what faith looks like in Habakkuk, Chapter 3: \u201cEven though the barns are empty, even though there are no cows on the hills, God, I\u2019m going to trust You. I\u2019m going to faith Your promises, not Your explanations\u201d; because we don\u2019t live on explanations.<\/p>\n<p>You [Dave] lived on the promise you\u2019d be healed; you lived on the promise. They probably couldn\u2019t explain to you exactly why, and where, and how cancer happened in your life; but you lived on the promise that it was going to be taken care of. That\u2019s what God wants us to do.<\/p>\n<p>The really cool thing is\u2014and I love this\u2014there are 7,487 promises in God\u2019s Word. Now, there are 3,200 questions, which I love. I love the fact that we have two promises for every question in the Bible. God wants us to ask those questions; but listen, He wants us to live in the promises.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: So how do we think our way out of the anxiety? I think I\u2019ve done this\u2014I\u2019m guessing everybody has laid in bed at night\u2014you wake up at two or three in the morning\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Right; yes, having a feeling of dread; absolutely.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014and your thoughts start going, whether it\u2019s a bank account number\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Wait! Do you do this?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Oh, my goodness!<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I feel like you are just snoozing away over there; I do this. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I mean, we all do this; you\u2019ve got to be kidding me.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: You don\u2019t do it very often.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I don\u2019t roll around and wake her up, but\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I do.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I went through succession after 30 years of helping lead our church. There were all kinds of anxious thoughts about the future, about financially\u2014everything\u2014it was hard to take every thought captive\u20142 Corinthians 10; you know?\u2014I knew it.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: But you are right, I had to rest in\/shalom came when I said, \u201cYou are with me; You\u2019ve got me.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Right.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u201cI don\u2019t need to be nervous or anxious about it. I can trust You.\u201d Is that how simple it is?\u2014because, then, it would come back like in five minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: It sounds simple; it\u2019s actually profound when a believer can get to that place, and say, \u201cLord, I\u2019m going to leave it in Your hands; I\u2019m going to trust You.\u201d This is why I needed an entire chapter to unpack what I do when I can\u2019t feel my faith; because so many of us, we want to feel our way out of our problems as Christians. That\u2019s the absolute worst place you can go is to try to feel your way out of a crisis. You have to think your way out of a crisis or think your way out of a challenge or problem; that\u2019s what the Bible wants us to do.<\/p>\n<p>The Scriptures\u2014to experience shalom\u2014want us to focus on key truths every single day and every single moment. Sometimes, we need to learn to believe the God we trust in. I mean, we need to learn to believe Him; and we need to learn to live in that trust. It\u2019s hard to do; but once you do that\u2014and you start experiencing that peace\/that shalom\u2014it gets easier and easier to do that.<\/p>\n<p>Again, it\u2019s everything, though, that the world doesn\u2019t want us to do. The world wants us to lose our mind; the world wants us to self-medicate, binge, not focus, check out, not be present. The Scriptures want us to do the exact opposite in all those categories.<\/p>\n<p>Something I want us to all prayerfully get to, as well, is: \u201cHow can we be more sensitive to all the people in our lives, who are struggling with anxiety and depression?\u201d I have an entire chapter dedicated to what it looks like to practice the ministry of presence.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Give us some practical steps we can take. We\u2019re listening to this; we\u2019re all tracking: \u201cWhat does it look like, even today?\u201d \u201cHow can I start this process?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Here is a very important question I\u2019d ask myself, Ann; because if we want to see lives change, our lives, first, must be changed. My life has been changed by the shalom of God; I\u2019m living in the center of God\u2019s will for my life. I have challenges like everyone, but I have never been more excited about what God is doing in my life than I am right now. I had to go through a deep valley to get here, the last two years, where I had to really decide if I believed in the shalom of God or not, and the peace of God through the faith steps that Audrey and I were feeling led to take.<\/p>\n<p>The most important question we can answer is: \u201cWho is helping us manage the anxiety, the uncertainty, and the stress in our lives?\u201d What I would like to ask people to prayerfully consider: \u201cWill you live in the shalom of God?\u201d And secondly, \u201cWill you bring a care team around yourself?\u201d The Christian life has always been lived in community. As Christian leaders, too much, we can get isolated; that\u2019s when the challenges come.<\/p>\n<p>I have an established care team around me that has been transformational for my life. I want to encourage everyone listening to me to, right now, begin writing down names of people that could be your care team: that needs to be your medical doctor; that should be a nutritionist; it should be a Christian counselor\/a therapist, or psychologist, or psychiatrist. We could go off on this\u2014but you know all these Christian counselors\u2014you can\u2019t even hardly get an appointment right now, which is a great thing; but we need more people to go into Christian counseling and Christian therapy ministries, because it\u2019s so needed.<\/p>\n<p>So a great outcome of this book\u2014and again, living in the shalom of God\u2014is establishing a care team for your life, knowing that you don\u2019t have to live the Christian life alone; it\u2019s not meant to be lived that way. \u201cBut you know\u201d\u2014you say\u2014\u201cChristians don\u2019t gossip; they just share prayer requests.\u201d Again, there is so much stigma\u2014just ignore all the Pharisees\u2014move forward in the peace of God in your life; and then watch the shalom\u2014the flourishing\u2014that lacking-nothing sense that God will bring into your life.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, and I would add: \u201cIf you\u2019re a man, you need a brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Amen.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u201cIf you\u2019re a woman, you need a sister,\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014\u201cthat when you are anxious, and you are waking up at two, and you\u2019re not going back to sleep, you can be honest and say, \u2018Dude, I am struggling.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u201c\u2018I am struggling with finding shalom.\u2019\u201d They will help\u2014become your buddy\/become your sister\u2014just walk beside you, and say, \u201cLet\u2019s both go back to thinking rightly and into the Word of God.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I have a good friend that, at two in the morning, she would wake up. She had five children. Her husband was just imprisoned for some embezzlement. She is raising her kids by herself; and in the morning, she would wake up at two, and she was so filled with anxiety. She would pick up her phone; call her sister, and there was just silence on the phone [as sister listened]. She would just cry; her sister would say, \u201cI\u2019m here for you.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Amen.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u201cI\u2019m here for you.\u201d Her sister would pray for her, and then she would go back to sleep. But she said, \u201cFor a year, that was the only thing I could do: was to call my sister and cry.\u201d She said that was some of the greatest ministry she\u2019d ever experienced.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah: Amen. It\u2019s that ministry of presence\/being there\u2014even if you\u2014you don\u2019t have to have a psychology degree to do that; do you?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I tell you what: I love Jeremiah.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Me, too.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Every time he is in the studio\u2014but I got to also say I'm a little envious\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Why?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014he's got the greatest hair\u2014I'm just saying. I used to have hair like that years<\/p>\n<p>ago. But anyway, great conversation with him about peace.<\/p>\n<p>Let me just remind you that we have his book, Unleashing Peace: Experiencing God's<\/p>\n<p>Shalom in Your Pursuit of Happiness. You can find that in our show notes at<\/p>\n<p>FamilyLifeToday.com. If you'd like to get a copy, just go there; that's where you'll find it.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I really think one of the greatest passions of my life is growing spiritually stronger,<\/p>\n<p>going deeper, learning more, connecting to Jesus more. And maybe you feel like that,<\/p>\n<p>too; you just want more\u2014you want to learn more; you want to grow; and you want to go<\/p>\n<p>deeper\u2014and you can by going to FamilyLife.com\/StrongerFaith, and we've got<\/p>\n<p>resources there that can help you grow in your faith. I really hope that you'll check it out;<\/p>\n<p>because I am sure that you're going to find something that's going to help you, and<\/p>\n<p>you're going to love it.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: FamilyLife.com\/StrongerFaith.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: And let me just add: if you know anyone who needs to hear conversations just like<\/p>\n<p>this one, we'd love it if you would just tell people about this station. And you can share<\/p>\n<p>today's specific conversation from wherever you get your podcasts. And while you're<\/p>\n<p>there, just a simple way that you can help more people discover God's plan for families<\/p>\n<p>is by leaving a rating and a review for FamilyLife Today; we would really appreciate it if<\/p>\n<p>you do that.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: We're Dave and Ann Wilson, and we're looking forward to seeing you back next<\/p>\n<p>time on FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>FamilyLife Today is a donor-supported production of FamilyLife\u00ae, a Cru\u00ae Ministry.<\/p>\n<p>Helping you pursue the relationships that matter most.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve benefited from the FamilyLife Today transcripts, would you consider donating today to help defray the costs of producing them and making them available online?<\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2025 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<p>www.FamilyLife.com<\/p>\n","theme_header_position":"Sticky","post_header_is_sticky":"default","is_header_overlay":"0"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/312816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47000"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312816"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=312816"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=312816"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=312816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}