Shalom, peace, isn't that what we all want? Isn't that what so many of us seek for, isn't that something that we all just wish that we could possess, peace. My question is what is peace exactly? The search for peace has prompted men to climb the highest peaks of the earth, and dive to the deepest depths of the ocean. The longing for peace has caused the destruction of families through divorce; the seeking for peace has cause men to kill men by the millions. Is peace simply the absence of conflict, or is peace really the pervasive sense of well being in the midst of the battle? To be honest, that's exactly what the word peace means, "a pervasive sense of well-being." See, it is my experience that we as people believe that peace is the absence of external conflict, but what about the conflict inside? I mean, we might be free of conflict in the environment around us, but what about the anger, resentment, frustration, the murder that is burning in our hearts? The Apostle John says in his first letter "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life living in him." Now, John in this passage is talking about the inner life of a person; the inner life of conflict and the lack of true peace, or Shalom. The inner life is the focus of all Scripture, the inner life of Shalom. Jesus came to earth heralding the arrival of the ability to have an inner life that reflects the inner life of God in the heavens. Jesus came opening a way to a place where we can access resources we do not possesses, to begin to learn how to live an inner life flowing in peace.
Peace is not simply the absence of conflict; peace is the presence of God in the inner parts of your very being. Peace that surpasses all ability to understand how is it I can feel secure, even when it's all falling down around me, and I am hunkered down and the bullets are flying. We have become so blinded on what peace is, and where it comes from. Peace doesn't come with a cease fire; peace comes from a river flowing directly from the mercy seat of the Lord, into our inner lives, our Spirit. Jesus says "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you;" The Lord has gifted us with His peace, and desires to teach us how to exist in a troubled world, above the conflict, and enter into a place independent of cease fires, but dependent on His sweet grace. The same Shalom that worked in the Lords heart on that rough road to the place of His death, the same Shalom that burst forth from Stephen as stones were thrown at him until he was dead enabled him to pray for those killing him, and the same peace that comforted Paul as he walked the roads telling people the Good News of the kingdom, in the midst of persecution. This is the Shalom; the pervasive sense of well being that has been offered us by grace, offered us by unrelenting Love.
O’ God of peace, calm our hearts, and teach us how to enter into your rest. Your peace is a gift to us, by grace, help us Lord enter into it. Help us learn that Shalom is a lifestyle and not just a moment in time. This peace, this Shalom that surpasses all understanding is the peace that can calm the storm inside, and lead us into an inner life of love and grace. Thank you sweet Lord Jesus, our Great Shepherd, and the Lover of our souls.
