This world desperately needs peace. I don’t think there’s a soul who would disagree with that. Our restless souls in a world of rampaging chaos would love for things to just settle down so we can breathe. Though we may have some good days, how are we ever going to find peace in the long term? Will it be by getting the right election candidate in—or getting the wrong one out? Will it be by convincing everyone in the world to get their act together and just be kind? Will it be when Darth Vader leads the Sith empire to rule the galaxy once more? The world is full of ideals for how to reach peace, but there’s one thing I know: the only peace I will trust is a peace that is from God.
The peace of God is a special kind of peace that the Old Testament calls shalom. Shalom is more than merely peace—it is wholeness, it is fulfillment, it is the way that everything is meant to be. It is when all the clamors of sin and death are silenced and the perfect goodness of God reigns in every molecule and every soul. In fact it is the state of existence that every soul yearns after. But only one genuine hope for shalom has ever been offered to the human race: the salvation that has come through Christ Jesus, given to all those who by faith are found in Christ Jesus.
How, then, do we experience that kind of peace when our world is still so overwhelmed with pain and suffering? Through the gifts of God. Our Lord has given us two things that guide us into his peace: his own Holy Spirit to live in us, and a joyful hope in what our future certainly holds. That means we can hold our heads up high and look ahead with excitement for the restoration God has promised us, no matter how bad things get. In fact, because the Spirit is here to help us, our suffering can even produce in us stronger and more excited hope than before!
Our hope will surely not put us to shame. God has loved us in superabundance, and he will surely continue to love us the same way until all is complete. And that means our peace, our perfect peace that comes from the one true and trustworthy God, is both a reward for the future and a gift for today. Know the wonderful shalom of God! Rest in the peace of knowing that God has already made us new, and will one day abolish all suffering and make all things new!
