Peace

Peace. It is something we very much long for in a world that seems to have gone quite haywire. I know how much we desperately want this peace for 2021 when all of 2020 has seemed the opposite of peace. And yet peace seems so elusive. Where is peace? We might even feel like the people in Jeremiah’s day as the religious leaders said, “’Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). I’ve been pondering this peace thing for quite awhile for probably obvious reasons. How does one find that peace offered so sincerely and from the depths of sympathetic hearts in almost every single sympathy card? Why does it seem so hard to come by when hardship and trauma and death and struggling are dogging our heels just when we need that peace the most? Is it because we have the wrong definition of what peace is? We want this feeling to flood over us that all is right with the world. But is anything really right with the world? And if we do feel this feeling it tends to be fleeting and fickle based on the circumstances we find ourselves in at the moment.

I remember learning a few years ago that the word Shalom (which is peace in Hebrew) has a very rich definition. It means complete, wholeness, restoration. That doesn’t sound like a fleeting feeling to me nor something that is gained passively. Jesus said in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” It’s not the peace that the world is offering, that elusive, fleeting feeling based on our circumstances. Because I can tell you that feeling is not going to get one very far when life deals a huge blow, such as the death of a child. But you know what can? It is this shalom peace. It is active. It requires our participation, our work. It requires us to actually seek the wholeness (Shalom, peace) that Jesus offers. It requires us to do the very difficult work of looking at things in our lives we really don’t want to look at, things we might have buried because they are just too painful to look at. But for real peace that Jesus offers, we must dig through the muck and mire of our lives and give those places to God for healing that only He can give.

What does that look like? First, it requires us to be honest with ourselves about our struggles, about the painful stuff we’ve buried deep because we don’t want to feel the pain of it. Second, it requires us to bring that yuck into the light of Jesus. That is where healing can take place. That is where the wholeness, that Shalom peace, can begin to take root. Maybe you say it is too hard and I totally get that. This year has seemed way too hard for me, too. But there is no shame in seeking out people whom God has given gifts to help in situations like this: Godly pastors and counselors. I can’t say I’ve found the full measure of Shalom, but I continue to do my part of surrendering those hurt places to God so that He can bring about a peace that actually lasts, a peace that won’t let me down, a peace that only God can give. Isn’t that what the world is desperately longing for these days? Think of those words that define Jesus’ version of peace: complete, wholeness, restoration. I don’t know about you, but that is what I want, first, restoration (Shalom) with Jesus, but also second, a wholeness (Shalom) in my heart and soul. Because then I know my heart can at last rest in true peace no matter what is going on around me. Will you join me on this blessed, but terrifying, journey? I’m certain it will be worth it no matter how hard the process. The only place we will find it is in Jesus, the true Prince of Peace, the Prince of Shalom.