Inspired by...: Inspired by . . . Day 9: His Name, Jehovah-shalom

Inspired by . . . Day 9: His Name, Jehovah-shalom

The God of Peace.

Jehovah-shalom

yehôvâh shâlôm
yeh-ho-vaw' shaw-lome'
Jehovah (is) peace; Jehovah-Shalom, a symbolical name of an altar in Palestine: - Jehovah-shalom.

O’ Beloved, is this not a word of assurance, a promise that we need to hear today?

We are meant to know the fullness of God’s perfect peace, or His “shalom.” God’s peace surpasses understanding and sustains us even through difficult times. It is the product of fully being what we were created to be.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Php 4:7

I love the Greek word for peace used in this passage: eirēnē / i-rah'-nay

Yes, it means quietness and rest as you would expect it to, but it also means “to set at one again”

Anyone reading this need a do over? Anyone want to begin again? or simply step out of the chaos that can be our lives.

I know I do.

I love descriptive phrases and this one speaks to me of centering. Stepping back, focusing on God, Who is Peace, and centering in on that truth. Peace may be a Person, but it’s also a process.

It begins with God, but it continues with us.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God

so that at the proper time He may exalt you,

casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. 1Pe 5:6-7

Why do we want to give God all our cares and worries. All our anxieties?

Because God is love. He is our provider. He is good. He is infinite and all-powerful. For all these reasons we can trust Him. When we do this, this act of trusting God, surrendering, with an open hand, our cares and anxieties something wonderful happens. He gives us His perfect peace.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You,

because he trusts in You. Isa 26:3

Shalom is perfect peace.

It is not just peace from war. It is a completeness. A safety, and soundness in body. Health and prosperity. It is a quiet tranquility. A contentment. It is peace in friendships; human friendships as well as the covenant-relationship with God.

The world offers many imitations, but perfect peace, shalom, comes only from Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives do I give to you.

Let not your hearts be troubled,

neither let them be afraid. Joh 14:27

Let’s put God to the test, Beloved. When anxieties and worries threaten our peace let us draw forth the promise of Isaiah 26:3. What does it mean to have a mind “stayed” on God? The Hebrew word is sâmak / saw-mak' and it means to lean upon or take hold of - have you ever been having a disagreement with someone and moved to touch them or embrace them only to have them pull away?

God will never do that, Beloved.

Go ahead, test Him in this - - lean on HIM - take hold of HIM

And never let go.