Peace is arguable one of the most costly and precious commodities in life. In a world that pushes everything in our face, blasts it as lout as possible and pushes us faster every day towards a goal that half the time we don't even know what we are chasing after. In the hustle and bustle that is life - school, job, kids, friends, family - how can peace even be a part of the conversation. The truth of the matter is that peace is essential for our existence. Peace is required for us to live life. Peace is necessary for us to function on any level that makes sense. But how is that possible? That is what I wanted to discuss today. I want to delve into what peace means, how it was applied throughout scripture and how we can possess it in our lives today.
I firmly believe we have to understand the words at their core in order to have any idea how to apply them. When we look in the Bible there are really two words used for 'peace' throughout scripture. Because of the Old Testament being written in Hebrew, the word primarily used there is 'shalom.' When you dig in to the real meaning of the word you find a world of implications. I am going to use the Blue Letter Bible resources here to look at the Hebrew definition.
shâlôwm, shaw-lome'; or שָׁלֹם shâlôm; from H7999; safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace:—× do, familiar, × fare, favour, friend, × great, (good) health, (× perfect, such as be at) peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, (× all is, be) well, × wholly.
As you see here, peace encompasses a lot of things - safety, happiness, friendliness, welfare, health, prosperity, and rest are a few of the words used here as part of the definition. It is used 175, out of the total 236 times it is used in the Old Testament, as peace. Words carry more than just mere meanings with them, though. They also carry connotation, or feelings along with them. Shalom carries the connotation of completeness, harmony and tranquility.
In the New Testament we see a very similar word used, but of course since the New Testament is written in Greek, the word used primarily is 'Eirene,' Using Blue Letter Bible once again, let's look at the Strong's definition of the word.
eirḗnē, i-ray'-nay; probably from a primary verb εἴρω eírō (to join); peace (literally or figuratively); by implication, prosperity:—one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again
Let's look at the outline of how the word is used in the New Testament. That will show us how the word is used, and what message is being conveyed by it.
a state of national tranquility
exemption from the rage and havoc of war
peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord
security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)
of the Messiah's peace
the way that leads to peace (salvation)
of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is
the blessed state of devout and upright men after death
As you can see they do have very similar definitions and usages throughout scripture. Now that we have a pretty solid understanding of what these words mean, we can look to see the message given to us regarding peace in our Bible. Shalom was and still is a Hebrew greeting and salutation. When you greet someone you say, "Shalom." When you leave someone's presence, you say "Shalom." This word, from the Hebrew we can see that it expresses desires for goodness, tranquility, no strife, no stress, nothing harmed. The word in the New Testament becomes "Eirene" in the New Testament, but it carries the same weight and application.
All throughout the Bible we see that peace originates with God, comes from Him since He is Jehovah Shalom, God our Peace. We see that true peace is found in Jesus. He told us in John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (English Standard Version) Peace from Jesus, which comes from the Godhead, since Jesus is God in the flesh, is not a pseudo peace like the world possesses and tries to dole out to us. Peace coming from God transcends this. Because of that particular peace, the one that comes from God. We do not have to be troubled or anxious or afraid. This is solid peace. This is not a peace that is here one minute and gone the next. The peace of God is like a concrete foundation - it is not going anywhere.
The question becomes how can I have this peace in my life? How can I possess this peace that passes all understanding that Paul was talking about (Philippians 4:7), which by the way He wrote about while in a Roman prison? The answer to these questions honestly lies in you resting in knowledge of WHO He is, and HOW he operates. I wrote in my last post about the value of knowing the attributes of God and how knowing His character increases our faith in Him and brings us to be able to trust Him. That is the truth of the matter. Peace comes out of trust, which comes out of knowing Him. When you have a full revelation of WHO God is, and how He operates, you have this immoveable confidence in Him and that He is on your side.
April 28, 2022... I was standing in the noodle isle at Walmart. My phone rang and it was not a number that I knew. Typically I would not answer numbers that I didn't know, but for some reason I answered it. "Hello, is this Brandi, Jeremiah's mom?" .... yes..... " I am calling to tell you that your son has been hit by a car....." At that moment, things began to move really slowly, as I was waiting for the next sentence that always comes in these sort of phone calls. ".... but he's going to be ok.".. I stood there, waiting for that sentence to come out of her mouth... but it never came.... "momma, it isn't looking good......" those were the words instead. Those were the words ringing out in place of the calm assurance that is always given by a caregiver when your child is hurt. There was no calm assurance, there was no good news in her words. I began to put back the items I had planned to purchase, as I talked to her. She explained that she was a nurse and that she was a few cars back from the car that hit my son as he rode his bike home from work. She gave me play by play, so to speak, as the ambulance arrived, she kept trying to talk to him to keep him awake. I got off of the phone to call my husband to go to him, since he was closer that I was. She called me back and put me on the phone with the paramedic. "Ma'am, we are calling a life flight to him right now, you will need to meet us in Atlanta. Park where ever you are and we will let you know which hospital to meet us"
I parked. I sat. I called my sister and my parents. I told them all that I knew. "Jeremiah had been hit by a car and he was being life flighted. I would call when I knew more. Please pray." The nurse called me back again with the paramedic to tell me which hospital to head towards. I drove. I prayed. I leaned into the only assurance I had in that moment, I leaned into God. I knew He was good. I knew He didn't do this to my boy. I knew He loved me. I knew He would not leave me as I walked through this nightmare. I arrived at the hospital as the helicopter was landing with him. I knew in my belly that was him on that flight. I continued to pray, it was the only thing that made sense in all of the whirlwind. It was 45 minutes to an hour before we could see him. We were told that he had broken all four of his limbs at the time, and that there was a massive gash on his back. They were trying to stabilize the wound to stop the bleeding and they would be sedating him to set all of his bones. He would go to surgery in the morning to fully assess all of the damage and repair what could be repaired. The doctors kept saying, it doesn't make sense, there is no head trauma, there is no internal bleeding. There is no damage to his torso other than the cut.
My parents reserved us a hotel in the city for the night, since we would have to be back at the hospital first thing. We left the hospital around 2 am. We went to the hotel, and I slept. I rested. It didn't make sense. How could I rest at a time like that? All I can say, is His peace went beyond all that I could understand through every bump in the road with him. God strategically placed nurses, doctors and specialists all around him to take the best care of him. The nurse in the ER had a son very close in age to Jeremiah. She called me almost hourly while he was in surgery to report his progress, their findings, their strategies and what was next. The nursing staff was utmost attentive to him. The call after his pulmonary embolism was shaky, but I still felt the weight of His peace. I knew that no matter what, God was there with me, He knew what was coming around the corner and I knew He could be trusted to handle it all.
A metal plate in his shoulder, a rod in his leg and pins in his wrist, along with too many stitches to count in his back. That was the damage. All repairable. No head trauma, no organ damage, no internal bleeding. Humpty dumpty got put back together again and regained most all of his mobility and strength. I am not sure I really could ask for a better turnout. But more that that, it solidified my faith that He is Jehovah Shalom - God my peace.
Brandi, that is all well and good, but that isn't the same for me. But it can be. God is not a respecter of persons, He does not play favorites. What He does for one, He will do for anyone. There are a few things you have to know though. First of all, peace has to be sought out. You have to intentionally seek Him, and His peace comes with His presence. Peace doesn't just come and jump on you. God is a gentleman and will not impose Himself on you. The split second you turn to Him, He is there and peace is, too. Psalm 34:12-14 tells us that we have to seek peace and pursue it. Second, I believe we have to cultivate a life of peace. If we are constantly complaining and stirring up drama and strife, peace cannot coexist there. This is what I meant at the beginning of the article that peace can be expensive. We oftentimes have to let go of something in order to make room for peace. We have to let go of being right, we have to relinquish control sometimes and sometimes we just have to walk away. This is what Paul was meaning by "as far as concerns you, live at peace with everyone." (Romans 12:17-18). We often will have to choose peace over winning the argument or even getting someone to do what you want them to do. I say this especially to parents. Your kids are free will moral agents, they make their own decisions. You cannot MAKE them do anything. Your peace will drastically increase when you grasp that one. I know mine did.
God desires for us to experience peace and fullness in our lives. This honestly cannot happen apart from intimate, abiding relationship with Him. I encourage you today to press into conversation with Him and ask Him if there is anything that is costing you your peace. Ask Him to show you how to cultivate peace and to help you desire peace above all else. I guarantee this will change everything in your life.