Real Hope: Peace That Passes All UnderstandingSample

True Peace

In English, the word ‘peace’ means ‘an absence of conflict,’ but in the Hebrew Bible the word peace comes from the word ‘shalom,’ which doesn’t just mean the absence of conflict but the presence of something so much better. Simply, ‘shalom’ means ‘complete or whole’, nothing is missing and everything is in its place. It’s a powerful word filled with ancient meaning. The concept of ‘shalom’ is based around the idea that life is complex and full of moving parts. When any of these parts are missing, you can lose your ‘shalom.’

True peace (shalom) is found in the person of Jesus, ‘… through him, God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross (Colossians 1:20 NLT). He made peace by restoring to wholeness the relationship between humans and their creator. When our peace is restored, we carry that with us and become people of peace who share in the knowledge of what Jesus did to bring peace to all.

Peace is about taking what’s broken and restoring it to wholeness, whether it’s in our lives, our relationships, or our world. Sometimes with the chaos of life, peace can feel very far off. In Isaiah, we discover a promise: ‘You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!’ (Isaiah 26:3 NLT).

It’s very easy to get caught up in the challenges of life and lose our focus on Jesus. When we do, we can lose our peace, but when we keep our hearts and minds focused on Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we are complete – nothing is missing and everything is in its place.

Written by LUCY WEIL

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