He gives us PEACE.
When I was asked to write a blog for Grace Lane Goods about peace, it was one of the moments in my life where I felt the least at peace. I’ve always been a believer that everything happens for a reason and God is always teaching us something. I knew that when I was asked to write about peace, God was about to teach me something! And that’s exactly what has been happening over the past few weeks.
It is hard to escape the reality in which we are living in right now. This pandemic has caused many unfortunate deaths, the temporary closings of businesses and churches, the unemployment of many, and chaos that has brought many back to their knees. No one saw it coming and no one imagined the year 2020 would be one like this. I surely didn’t. I didn’t imagine not having a job, being quarantined, and having to do college online. I am sure that my situation is not as bad as others, and I praise God that I am well! Despite being a believer and putting my faith in God, inevitably, my human instinct is to worry and to fear the unknown.
It was March 15, and I just had gotten back home from a conference in Texas.
While in Texas, I received an email from my college that Spring Break would be extended another week and we would begin classes the following week due to the pandemic. I was in utter excitement because I was in Texas! Who has time for a pandemic? Thankfully, we were able to attend the conference and I returned home safely. It was March 16, early in the morning and I was getting ready to head to work, when my boss notified me via email that no one is allowed to enter the building due to the pandemic. In that moment, I realized how serious this was. Many times we don’t realize the significance of events until they become real to our personal lives. I had also received an email from my college’s President that classes were now available online.
The extroverted and poor college student inside of me wanted to burst. Not only was I not going to be working, I was going to be stuck at home all day doing online classes! I felt hopeless and lonely and bored! Okay, now that I look back, I think I may have exaggerated just a little, but in those moments, this is exactly how I felt. My heart was restless and worried? How am I going to pay this and that? How are online classes going to be? When will I ever get to see my friends again? Will I ever socialize again? After a hurricane of questions, I finally stopped myself and said, “Lely, you never had control anyways, so why are you worried now? God is in control. And you are ok.” I lacked so much peace in these moments, but when I fixed my perspective and refocused on God, I learned something so amazing!
When the Bible speaks of peace, it does at times refer to peace as the absence of war, but it also communicates that peace is a presence. The word Peace in the Old Testament is Shalom (Hebrew), but in the New Testament the word for peace is Eirene (Greek). Peace is very valued in the Jewish culture. It stems from a root word meaning wholeness or completeness. In many Jewish literature, this word Shalom is coherently used with shelemut, which means perfection.
In the Old Testament, Shalom can be referred to as a stone or brick wall that is perfect with no cracks or missing blocks (Joshua 8:31). It is also referred to as something that is complex but complete (Job 5:24). Shalom can also refer to someone’s well being (1 Samuel 17:22).
If Shalom were like a brick wall and every aspect of life were a brick, then life is complex to say the least. In this complexity, when any aspect of life is not in alignment, some bricks fall and our perfect brick wall is not so perfect anymore. Our Shalom is broken. Now go back and read that again, except this time replace the word Shalom with peace. Now, is that not the most relatable thing you have ever read?
Shalom, when used as a verb, means restoring it to completeness or wholeness. Some examples are found in 1 King 9:25, Exodus 22:4, and Proverbs 16:7. These examples, along with many others show us that the state of Shalom or the action of brining Shalom, is attainable. This is what God called the Kings of Israel to do, but in fact many of them were distracted from this purpose and accomplished the exact opposite. However, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a “Prince of Shalom” who would bring a Shalom “with no end” (Isaiah 9:5-6). The people of God needed a prince to make a covenant of Shalom to right all the wrongs and restore Israel back to completeness. Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophecy and we see so in the New Testament, when his birth is announced as Eirene. Remember that Eirene is the Greek word for peace, therefore Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
Now, this is great! We have done a quick study of the word Peace, but what’s it all mean for you, me, and everyone else in this world that is feeling everything else but peace?
It means that peace is attainable through the person of Jesus Christ. Despite what is happening around us, God calls us to have peace in him. Jesus, the fulfillment of many prophecies, is not only our Savior, he is the giver of Peace. In John 14:27, Jesus told his followers, “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.” Through the life of Jesus, we know that not only is Jesus the giver of peace, he came to make peace, as the apostles describe in Romans 5:1 and Ephesians 2:14-15. The purpose of Jesus here on earth was to restore Shalom. Let’s use the example of the brick wall again. Sin broke our Shalom. Sin was the storm that swept through our brick wall, but when Jesus died on the cross and resurrected, he restored the brokenness and finished it into completion. Not only did he restore our Shalom, he restored our communion with God.
But it doesn’t stop there. If you are a Christian, a Christ follower, God calls you to make peace. In Ephesians, Paul urges the church to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
If we truly are people of Christ, we recognize that making peace is an assignment from God to Jesus and now, since we follow Jesus, it is also an assignment for us (Colossians 1:19-20).
Though during the beginning of this quarantine, I felt everything but peace. But
with much prayer and worship to God, my heart was reminded that though there may be roaring chaos around me and even within me, the presence of the prince of peace lives within me. And he lives in you too. I learned that where there is worry, fear, and anything else of that nature, peace cannot exist. God calls me to live in peace. During this season, I learned that part of God’s nature is peace. And when I stopped looking around for a second, and refocused on Him, I found that the God I serve is one of peace. He is one who restores what’s broken. If you are not at peace right now, there are broken things there that God needs to restore, like that brick wall we were talking about. I realized that my lack of peace was because I lacked trust in God in that moment. But when I surrendered and gave it to God I realized his nature. In every season, God is exactly what you need Him to be. If you need peace, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). What a beautiful promise!
One of my favorite bible verses is found in John 16:33 when Jesus says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
To the one reading this, remember that God has restored things into perfect peace through his son Jesus Christ. He already overcame and that is your victory! He offers you that peace that only He can give. Whatever you’re going through, whatever chaos you feel you must remember that He is able and He is peace. I pray peace over you, peace within you, and peace all around you. May you be overwhelmed by God’s peaceful presence in this moment. May you come to know the prince of peace and may you learn to call on him in any moment. I pray peace over your family, over your church, over your health, and over your children! Rest in the arms of the giver of peace and remember to be creators of peace.
- Lely Perez
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