Stepping Stones To ShalomSample

Created for Peace

Two beautiful verses in Isaiah talk about trusting God, and God giving us shalom, peace. Yet, like so many verses in the Bible, when we look at the words in the original Hebrew, deeper nuances and meanings emerge.

First, let’s look at the verse in English: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26:3-4). As is, the message clearly states that God will grant those who trust in Him perfect peace.

However, in Hebrew, there are three unusual words in these verses that are nearly identical and share the same root letters. The term used for “those” is yetzer, which in this context means “creature.” Instead of the words typically employed by Scriptures to signify “the people” or “the man,” here, the Bible makes the unusual choice to refer to faithful people as creatures “whose minds are steadfast . . .” 

Two words later in the Hebrew version, we read titzor, which in this context means “to keep,” but can also mean “to create.” Finally, in the next verse, God is referred to as tzur, which means “Rock,” as in the Creator and Sustainer of the world.

What can we learn from the Torah’s deliberate play on words? 

The teaching is that our Creator created us, His creatures, to be peaceful, loving, trusting beings. 

We weren’t designed to be stressed out all the time. Carrying around worry is like a pickup truck hauling around a massive load of cement. It wasn’t built for carrying such a heavy load, and neither were we! At our core, we are designed to be at peace. When we trust in God even in the face of difficulties, God gives us the perfect peace that He so desires to give us all. 

There are many storms in life; we all will go through rough times. If we focus on the storm, we will almost always be in turmoil and experience a tumultuous existence. But when we focus on God, who is bigger than any storm, we can be at peace no matter what the external conditions are. God wants us to trust Him and live peacefully. 

Once we have learned how to weather any storm with faith and tranquility, God can remove the storm and give us a much more pleasant atmosphere. Next time you find yourself in a storm, remember that you were created for peace. 

Stepping Stone 1: Believe that you can be at peace at all times. The first step towards shalom is believing that it is possible – for you, for our families, and for everyone. Take a few moments to visualize yourself going through your day in perfect peace no matter what might come your way, and then believe this is possible.