He gives us more than peace!
I was just climbing up the incline of our road towards our driveway on another morning walk in the Winter darkness. It had been one of the those messy morning walks where my thoughts lacked clarity and I didn’t find the rest in my soul that the walk usually brought. I intentionally create space for morning walks ‘cos it clears my head ready for another day and it often reveals new day truth. It hadn’t yet.
Suddenly, I heard an unexpected whisper with the word “Shalom.” We can ignore a sudden word drop in our minds or hearts as simply “our minds” or we can learn to welcome and nurture them as the quiet and leaning voice of God for our current moment or season. I totally prefer to accept the latter.
I’d forgotten all about that chapter entitled “Shalom” I’d recently read in Ann Voskamp’s latest book, Waymaker, (a must read by the way) and knew for the most part God was encouraging me to a place of peace. But I also knew any God whisper is worth exploring.
A quick google search and I realised the whisper was more than a giving of peace. Shalom also offers friendship, safety, completness, welfare, prosperity, health, contentment and my fav, tranquility.
Isn’t that beautiful? But so what? What do we do with a word like shalom? Do we dare to believe it, accept it, and declare it over our daily lives?
I think Shalom is a daring grace word. It’s word Christ wants us to explore, know, lean towards and speak over our daily lives. With a little Bible diving I found some of Jesus’ best words linked with shalom;
Peace I leave with you;
My perfect peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give to you.
Do not let your heart be troubled,
nor let it be afraid.
Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance
and give you courage and strength for every challenge.
John 14:27 AMP
These are Jesus’ pre-the cruxifixion words to the disciples and if we flip into the Jewish Bible we can understand a little bit more…
“Shalom Hashem I leave with you, my Shalom I give to you.” (OJB)
Jesus didn’t just speak peace over His disciples but shalom. He left with them the promise of more than peace. He gave to them a promise of more than peace. Jesus gave a daring grace gift to them. And today we dare to believe shalom is applicable to us a couple of millenniums on. Will we accept, open and unwrap shalom for our daily lives?
What may happen in your moments today if you spoke “shalom” over them, accepting the peace, the promise, the hope of Christ never leaving us, never holding back from us, never abandoning us to the chaos and the confusion this world?
Blessings graced ones.
He is leaning towards you with “shalom.” Dare to accept it and declare it over your places and spaces today.
