Addendum- Peaceful

{A couple days ago the worship director at my church asked me to do a meditation on the Christian Characteristic “Peaceful”. It didn’t take me long to realize that for me…Shalom is a massive subject that I could turn into a sermon or even a book if it was asked of me. By the second draft, it seemed manageable and I felt a Divine Smile creeping through the windows of my soul.As such, I present it here. I pray that you are challenged, encouraged, and blessed.}

Good morning, Brothers and Sisters.

When I looked over Su’s list of Christian Characteristics, the one that stood out to me the most was PEACEFUL.  It stood out to me because it is the antithesis of where I began in my journey with the Lord.

According to the American Heritage dictionary:  “Peaceful” is an adjective that means “Undisturbed by strife, turmoil, or disagreement; tranquil.  A synonym for it is “Calm”.  Another definition is “inclined or disposed to peace; peaceable.  Not involving violence or employing force.”

I once was precisely the opposite of this.  I was full of turmoil, strife and disagreement.  I was a very bitter, resentful, and angry young man.  And most of my resentment, anger and bitterness was directed at the church.  I grew up in the church and I ended up being deeply hurt by people within the church.  I was more than happy to blame others for my lack of peace rather than explore it as a characteristic, a natural outgrowth of however much I was abiding in the LORD.  

And then I met Him.  I really met Him.  I had a genuine encounter with the Prince of Peace and my life began to change.  You see, when we spend time with the LORD, when we make His Kingdom and His righteousness the thing we seek first, then this list of characteristics, these Fruits of the Spirit naturally follow.  When we abide in Him, we can’t help but become like Him; sometimes little by little and sometimes by leaps and bounds.

I knew a lot of people who were really good at projecting the image of being full of peace.  They had a calm demeanor on the outside, they had control of their external reactions, but not the internal.  

What God calls us to, what Jesus exemplified, and what the Holy Spirit produces in us is a Peace that passes all understanding, it defies absolutely all logic.  As with all the other Fruits of the Spirit and Christian Characteristics, that supernatural kind of Peace is contagious.

When God speaks of the peace we are to be full of He means something different than the American Heritage Dictionary.  In the same way God means something different than we would when He uses the word “prosperity”.  Peace is a much, much deeper concept.  God uses the word “Shalom”.

Shalom means complete, whole, well as opposed to sick, genuine holistic contentment and prosperity, harmony of relationships and it all finds its basis, the origin of this unique Peace in the context of our relationship with God Himself.  Rabbis that I have read marvel at just how complex and interconnected Shalom is, how integral it is to the nature of God, the will of God, and the experience of God.  When they study Shalom they declare that one could study just this one concept for a lifetime and never run out of discoveries and realizations.

It is far more than a lack of turmoil and strife, or the absence of war.  It is not simply tranquil.  It  is being at rest because you know the God of the Universe and He knows you.  Your entire destiny is in the hands of one far greater that yourself.  

Your every day, your every frustration, your every illness, crisis, loss, grief, broken heart, unemployment, anxiety, bankruptcy, humiliation, depression, failure, it has all been seen ahead of time.  And He cares.  He cares so deeply that He has already sent ahead everything you will need, every word of encouragement, every Brother or Sister that has the right wisdom at the right time, or an open door or window in a seemingly inescapable situation.  

Seriously, how cool is that?  Everywhere we go, everything we come up against, He has already seen it and provided for it.

Shalom means that we are complete…in Him.  We are whole, because of Him.  We are filled with wellness, because His Spirit lives in us.  The peace He gives is not because of a lack of turmoil, strife, or war it is in spite of turmoil, strife, and war.  In a world that Jesus assures us is full of troubles, He is also the one who tells us not to be anxious for anything.  Why?  Because God is a good Father, because Jesus has overcome the world, and because the Holy Spirit is working within us to produce this very fruit, a fullness of peace. 

When we are in the midst of those troubles that come, I know that it is difficult to believe that being this peaceful is even possible.  It is easy for Jesus’ words to seem like a well-meaning platitude or an absolutely ludicrous fantasy.  But I assure you, it is neither of those things.  It is a capital “R” Reality.

In earlier days I would often find myself spoiling for a fight.  I was, as I said, bitter and angry, and my entire being was caught up in anxieties and frustrations.  Not being full of peace, I didn’t care who I mowed down.  I kidded myself into thinking that I was peaceful because I didn’t use my fists.  I used my words.  I found a convenient alibi in that old adage about “sticks and stones”.  I sowed dissension and I hurt people in ways I’m not sure I can ever heal or apologize enough for.

Anxieties don’t just stay inside.  Inner turmoil is not something we can just shove down and put a lid on indefinitely.  It always comes out.  It always destroys our ability to be truly peaceful.

God offers us something far richer and far better in exchange.  He offers Shalom.  A lack of peace is a sickness, and He wants to heal us.  The world’s version of peace is a Dollar Store knock off.  Shalom is the Real thing.  When we are fully satisfied in Him there is no reason to fight, to bicker, to gossip, to be anxious, or angry or cause turmoil or dissension.  There is simply Shalom.

As always, God’s holy dare is the same.  “Taste and See.”  Or in today’s language…

“Try Me.”