Shalom

Isaiah 9:6-7

He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

THE HEBREW WORD SHALOM IS well-known as a greeting and a blessing. We translate it as peace, which is certainly accurate, but it means so much more. Shalom includes fullness, completeness, wholeness, satisfaction, and well-being—peace in every sense, in every area of life. It’s that sense of fulfillment we long for when we think about the perfect vacation, the end of our to-do list, the enjoyment of life, and relief from all our fears and insecurities. We know we will get to experience it in heaven, but we want God to give us tastes of it now. We know he can; we see it in Scripture when God gave Solomon—the king whose name comes from shalom—shalom on every side (1 Kings 4:24; 1 Chronicles 22:9). We see it in Jesus’ calming of the storm (Mark 4:39) and his blessing of peace over his disciples (John 14:27). And as we read in Isaiah, the promise of the coming Messiah identified Jesus as the Prince of Shalom whose government would never be without it.

Shalom is an appealing, magnetic quality of life, and God’s people are to embody it just as Jesus did. Unfortunately, many of us are still filled with worries, anxieties, insecurities, doubts, nerves, bitterness, or some other form of anti-shalom, but it nevertheless remains a promise and an opportunity for us. Perhaps that’s why Paul was so insistent on telling people to rejoice always and be thankful in every circumstance, and why the most common command in Scripture is not to be afraid. Shalom is our inheritance, and far too many of us are missing out on it. As a result, far too many people in the world are missing out on demonstrations of what it can look like.

Learn to live in shalom, and notice how people respond to you differently. The human heart longs for peace and is drawn to it but rarely encounters people who live and breathe it. Be one of them. Rest in the presence and power of Christ. Let the fullness of the Kingdom thrive within you.

{Jesus, you are the Prince of Shalom, and you promise to fill me with your Spirit. Settle my heart, fill me with joy, and let me model the fullness of your Kingdom for all to see. Make me whole. Amen.