“You will keep him in perfect (complete) peace…” Isaiah 26:3
The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. Shalom is a word derived from a root word meaning, “to be whole.” The definition of shalom includes peace, but it also means “completeness.” Peace describes our salvation in every area and covers our health, wellbeing, safety, prosperity, tranquility and rest. Shalom means that there is nothing missing and there is nothing lacking in us. Peace includes restoration of past hurts, freedom from past mistakes, and mental and emotional health. Peace includes release from guilt and shame and fear. Peace is redemption from sin and the escape from its hold on us.
When we are whole, there is no longer the need to strive, and we are at rest. We have peace. We have shalom. Our salvation brings wholeness, but also our daily surrender to the Lord brings wholeness. If we are not at peace, if there is any area of bondage, God wants to sanctify us so we can know His peace. II Peter 3:14 says, “…be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”
If there is an addictive sin that has you in its grip, I pray that you know that God never gives up on you. He is always for you. He is always on your side. He alone has the power to set us free. In and of ourselves we can do nothing. The peace that He offers us is also the wholeness that we need. It is the healing that we need. It is the restoration that we need. His peace surpasses our understanding, guarding our hearts and minds.
When people are at peace, they are at rest. People who are not at rest may consider a peaceful person to be indifferent or uninformed or irresponsible. However, when peace is ruling in our hearts, we can have confidence. It means we can know salvation from a Savior that has overcome the world, will return as our King, and is reigning in our hearts today. There is nothing that can shake us from our Rock, our Redeemer.
Application: We can have peace in the middle of stormy situations. Jesus was sleeping through a storm, with wind and waves all around Him. When the disciples woke Him up for help, Jesus said to the storm, “Peace, be still,” and the storm stopped. If you have a stormy situation in your life today, speak to your storm, “Peace!” and rest in the Lord.