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The Lord is Our PEACE
While we often equate the word "shalom" with peace, the concept of "Shalom", as applied to God, goes beyond that. As a name of God, Shalom also means wholeness, completeness, finished work, perfection, safety, and wellness. To pray to Jehovah Shalom is to pray to "God, the source of peace for all areas of our lives".
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
So, God is Peace. And, according to Romans 5:1 we can have peace with God, because of the work of Jesus on the cross.
But, and this is especially apropos in light of current world circumstances, we can also have the peace of God. Be careful though, this peace is not the absence of trouble in our life. The verse above clearly lets us know that we will, indeed, have trouble. This peace is living in right harmony with Jesus. Look at Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such there is no law.
We can experience this peace through three conditions:
1. Right Praying
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us to be "anxious for nothing". We are, instead, to present all things to God in prayer, with thanksgiving. What happens when we do this? This verse goes on to say that the "peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus".
2. Right Thinking
Oh, that sounds easy. Not!!!
Well, Philippians 4:8-9 gives us some very simple advice on how to do it. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things, and the God of peace will be with you.
And if that is true, then the opposite is also true. If you think about (take into your mind) things opposite the values in this list, then we may not encounter the peace of God. And the values on the list are:
True -- Truthful; without falsehood or deception
Noble -- Honest; honorable
Right -- Approved by, or acceptable to, God
Pure -- Free from the carnalities of the flesh; not impure
Lovely -- Pleasing; appealing to the emotions and the eye (that is, the emotions and eyes that are conformed to God)
Admirable -- Inspiring; worthy of highest honor
Excellent -- Of the highest quality
Praiseworthy -- Worth of the highest praise
3. Right Living
In the scripture I quoted above, I skipped one part. That part says, ... whatever you have learned or received from me, or seen in me ... put it into practice. And the peace of God will be with you.
Put it into practice.
Are you not experiencing the peace of God? Take a long, hard look at the things you think about, the things you listen to, the things you read, the things you watch, the things you say, the things you "surf", the places you go, the people you follow (in other words, who sets the agenda for your time), the jokes you make, the jokes you laugh at, the email you forward (do you fact-check before sending it along).
If , after close examination, any item in the list in the above paragraph does not conform to all the values listed earlier, something needs to change. Well, it only needs to change if you want to have the peace of God ruling in your life.
Put it into practice.
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