Living in Peace

What image do you conjure up in your mind when someone talks about peace?  Is it one where there is an absence of hostility and no civil disturbances or war in society?  Maybe it’s openness of nature, big blue skies, open green fields, or maybe a long white beach and clear blue ocean stretching out in front of you – the absence of noise, pollution, clutter and concrete.  Or maybe it’s the lush of a jungle with varieties of non-dangerous animals and vegetation everywhere embracing you.

I hardly ever remember my dreams, unlike my wife who wakes up with a new dynamic crazy dream story every morning.  She remembers them all.  But when I was a teenager, there was one recurring dream I could remember.  It was odd and it was a dream of moving scenes.  One scene would be calm, blue skies, green fields, fresh air in a cool breeze, and the warmth of sunshine on your skin.  The next would be gray skies, dirty concrete buildings, trashy sidewalks, roads with cars everywhere honking, emergency vehicles rushing somewhere with sirens blaring, the smell of exhaust fumes or trash from the city streets and a cold clammy feeling touching the skin.  Then back to the peace of nature, then back to the anarchy of the city.  Over and over.  I still don’t know what it means or meant.  I just know it was the only dream I could ever remember.

The Bible word for peace uses the Hebrew root “slm”.  This word as a verb has a static meaning of “to be complete or whole” and a dynamic meaning of “to live well”.  When used as a noun as “salom” it fits into one of four categories: (1) wholeness of body (health); (2) right relationship between people or God, as in a covenant; (3) fulfillment in prosperity or success; (4) victory over one’s enemies or the absence of war.  When using “salom” in a greeting or farewell, the Hebrew are essentially saying, “May your life be filled with health, prosperity, and victory.”

An important part of faith is recognizing that God is the only Authority.  His influence and Word in our life is the best for our lives whether we understand it or not and especially if it isn’t what we think we want.  Certainly the Creator knows better about what we really need for fulfillment than we do with our wants for temporary happiness.  How foolish we are!  We are sheep - stupid, dumb, nasty sheep.

God is the only one who can fulfill us or cause us to be complete or whole – to be in peace.  He alone is the only one who can balance health, prosperity, victory, and complete everything in righteousness.  He alone is peace. 

Living in Peace is to live in the presence of God Himself through the person of Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.  This alone is heaven.  It is a treasure above all else to the wise who thirst after it “as a deer pants for water”.  So many in the world search for peace and are completely unaware that they are really searching for God. 

Where do you need peace today?  In your marriage?  Your job?  Your family?  Be aware that you need God there so be sure to focus on your relationship with Him first so you can bring peace with you to those relationships.  With the reality of God in you in those relationships, in the least there will be peace in you and the capacity and capability for God to then change everyone around you. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7