Peace No Matter WhatSample

Peace in Every Season

The peace we long for is deeper than an absence of conflict or stress. The most common biblical word for peace is shalom. While it’s difficult to translate into other languages, it essentially means complete wholeness and well-being.

The story of Scripture starts with Adam and Eve in the garden, a place of total peace. When Eden is lost, God provides a Promised Land. Then our human story ends in heaven, also a place of well-being and wholeness.

We will go through hardship and suffering in this life, yet God keeps inviting his people into places of peace. This doesn’t mean we’ll experience shalom fully in this world. But there’s something comforting in knowing that God is always working to bring us closer to it until we’re home forever.

If we’re in a season where life is going well, then that means we can embrace it without fear or apology. We receive the gifts God is bestowing on us. We celebrate and savor every moment. We let the joy we feel now be a small preview of what we’ll one day experience forever.

If we’re in a season where life is stressful, then that means we can let shalom be our hope. No matter how broken we feel now, we trust one day we’ll be whole and that all will be made right. This life is not the end of our story; it's the hard middle. And God promises to provide the peace we need wherever we are today.

For so long I thought peace was the absence of something. I know now it’s the presence of someone. A God who loves us. A God who is for us. A God who is still making all things new, including me and you.

God, you don’t just give me peace; you are my peace. Amen.

How do you need shalom in your life today?