Gospel of Peace
Grief is often accompanied by a myriad of temptations: anger, bitterness, fear, and despair, just to name a few. But God has provided us with everything we need to overcome these temptations, and to move forward in our sorrow with His strength. In this series, we will be studying the various pieces of our spiritual armor, and how each of these pieces uniquely equip us to cling to the hope we have been given in Christ.
Shoes. I really like shoes. A lot of shoes. In college, my boyfriend made me a four–tiered shoe storage unit because I had so many shoes. He designed it to hold about 35 pair of shoes. Ha! I managed to get 54 pair in by double stacking my sandals.
I kept my shoe issue a secret when dating my husband, so he was a tad bit overwhelmed when he helped me move out of my apartment. He couldn’t believe the number of shoes I had and seemed worried about how my shoe “issue” could be managed on the measly budget we would have when we married. I assured him I was a savvy shopper. I’m not sure he bought it, but he married me anyway…
I really was a thrifty clothes and shoe shopper—until my son died. My son, Zachary, isn’t buried in the town we live in, but one night, we were in town visiting relatives and drove past the cemetery late at night. I had only been to Zach’s grave in the daytime, and when I passed by the cemetery, my breath literally caught. I had the fleeting thought that my son was all alone in the dark. But the thought was only fleeting because I know he is in the arms of Jesus, my Savior.
Then I thought I needed to go shopping—RIGHT THEN! All of a sudden, it hit me that I had been using shopping as a way to avoid the grief I felt. I looked for comfort and control in being able to go out and conquer something. What I didn’t realize was the things I was buying weren’t helping fill the void in my heart. and, I had charged about $7,000 worth of stuff over an 11-month period. $7000 we didn’t have. You can imagine how the conversation with my husband went when I confessed. Gratefully, he loved me through it.
Now, why am I confessing my grieving failure? Why am I telling you about my shoes? My ridiculous amount of shoes? Because when we grieve, if we aren’t careful, we can grieve in a manner that does more harm than good. Yes, anger is a stage of grief, but we can’t stay there. Yes, we might want to simmer in bitterness, fear, and unbelief, or we might develop unhealthy habits like I did.
But, there is Good News.
Paul tells the Christians in Ephesus to put on God’s armor in order to defeat the enemy and some of his minions called anger, fear, bitterness, unbelief, and even an addiction—like shopping. He says to put on shoes. (See how this is all tying in?)
“For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News,
so that you will be fully prepared.”
Ephesians 6:15 (NLT)
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger
who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation,
the news that the God of Israel reigns!”
Isaiah 52:7 (NLT)
What is the Good News? The Good News is that Jesus died for our sins so we can have eternal life. Having eternal life means we will hold our children again in heaven. That Good News should bring an immense amount of peace. Even in our grief, we can have peace.
“And let the peace that comes from
Christ rule in your hearts.”
Colossians 3:15a
When we have our “peace shoes” strapped on everywhere we go, we walk in peace. When we come to a muddy road that tries to confuse us with unbelief, we step out wearing our mud boots of peace.
When the paved road is long and hot with anger, we walk wearing our comfy sneakers of peace.
When the path is uncertain with doubt, we don our sturdy peace hikers.
When the waves of grief threaten to overwhelm us, we walk along the shore wearing our flip-flops of peace.
We have the hope of our salvation when we trust our lives to Jesus. When we call Jesus our Savior, He gives us “the peace of God, which passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).
Dear Hope Mama, let’s strap on the shoes of peace as we walk out our journey of loss. Let’s travel down the road with the peace only the Lord can give. Let each step we take be one of peace, because we know we will see our babies again someday when we trust in Jesus as our Savior.
The best shoe I could ever have is the shoe of peace. How about you? Are you walking in the peace the Good News brings? If not, put on the shoes of peace today.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Isaiah 26:3
- Shelly
Hope Mom to Zachary Robert
Shelly D. Templin is an author, speaker, and blogger that shares a message of hope—with humor. She has three daughters, a son-in-law, and a granddaughter. Shelly lives in Texas with her husband, Jack, of 29 years and their two dogs.
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