Peace of Mind

Peace is something many of us have sought after. Peace in our home, Peace in our marriage, Peace in our jobs, Peace in our hearts. It's something we long for but some never find. To give you a little back ground on Peace in the Bible, we see it comes from the Hebrew word "Shalom", meaning "completeness, wholeness, health, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony; the absence of agitation or discord". I know many of you pray diligently for that last statement. Shalom comes from the root verb Shalam, meaning "to be complete, perfect and full." That tells me Shalom is way more than the absence of war and conflict, but it's the wholeness the entire human race is looking for.

We can see the word shalom occurs 250 times in the Old Testament. We see in Psalms, God takes delight in the shalom, which is the wholeness, the total well-being of His servants. In Isaiah, we read the prophesy of what the future Messiah well go through for us. It says in Isaiah 53:5 that He was beaten to bring us shalom. The angels understood that the birth of Jesus was to be the great Peace bringer, as they called out, "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased," (Luke 2:14-17). 

In the New Testament Jesus Christ becomes our "Prince of Peace". In Luke 1:79 Zechariah prophesies that He will "guide us to the path of Peace." Jesus as the Prince of Peace gives Peace to those who call upon Him for personal salvation. We can see from the verses I gave you above, Philippians 4:6-7, Prayer and Peace are closely connected. The person who entrusts their cares to Christ instead of agonizing or worrying  over them will experience the peace of God that will guard them from all their nagging anxiety. This all tells me that God has provided everything necessary for our spiritual well-being. He has already provided your Peace. As you pray and fast today give all your worries, anxieties, frustrations, agitations, squabbles and quarrels to Him, and let Him be your Prince of Peace.