Shalom (Peace) Shavuot Preparation Plan (Audio)
Shalom (Peace)
Dr. Gavriela Frye April 7, 2021
Editor’s Note: This article is written by MBC Counselor, Gavriela Frye as part of our series on Sefirat HaOmer Preparation Plan Devotional. In this series, she is unpacking how to find Shalom in all areas of our lives.
Cultivating Shalom (Peace) is not just a choice to “be still in the Hashem (God),” hoping it will suddenly fall upon us. Experiencing Shalom (Peace) is learned as Philippians 4:11 teaches us: “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”
In the workplace and in our personal lives we often set for ourselves a vision and goals for the year. Hashem (God) also has set a vision and goals for our lives. His vision is that we would be at Shalom (Peace). Philippians 4:7 states, “And the peace of Hashem (God), which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah).”
As with joy, peace for the Apostle Paul (Shaul) is a fruit of the Ruach Hakodesh or Spirit of Hashem (God) (Gal. 5:22). It is especially associated with Hashem (God) and His relationship with His people. Here it is called “the peace of Hashem (God)” because Hashem (God) is “the God of Shalom (peace),” the God who dwells in total shalom (wholeness and well-being) and who gives such shalom to His people. It is the “peace of Hashem (God)” that transcends all understanding. Hashem (God)’s peace transcends the merely human, unbelieving mind, which can be full of anxiety because it cannot think higher than itself.
The God to whom we pray and offer thanksgiving, whose ways are higher than our ways, is also trustworthy; our prayer is accompanied by His Shalom (peace). That is not because He answers according to our desires, but because His peace totally transcends our merely human ways of perceiving the world. Shalom (Peace) comes because prayer is an expression of trust, and as Hashem (God)’s people we do not need to have it all figured out to trust Him.
Pursuing Shalom (Peace) by Meditating on the Truth of His Torah
How do we learn to be content and at Shalom (peace)? It takes work. It requires that we are in control of our thinking as Romans 12:2 explains, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of Hashem (God) is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
We are not to allow our thinking to control us, but we are to be in control of what is on our minds. Romans 1:21 shows us what happens when we let our mind think on whatever it wants: “…they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Shalom (Peace) and contentment are a protection against the strong emotions that take us to anxious and hopeless places.
Isaiah 26:3 gives us an open window to see where Hashem (God) wants to take us: “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” Trusting in Hashem (God) is the foundation of peace. If we do not trust Hashem (God) we will be unstable in all our ways, and as James 1:6 states, double-minded. To trust Hashem (God) we must know Hashem (God), and to know Hashem (God) we must know His Word and be obedient to it.
Pursuing Peace by Treasuring Hashem (God)’s Word, His Torah
Yochanan (John) 14:21 gives this foundational truth: “He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” When we know Hashem (God)’s commandments and keep them, then God knows we are committed to our relationship with Him.
When we demonstrate our commitment to Him by being in the Word and obedient to what we learn, then He speaks to us more and more from the Word, grounding us in confident peace. Our relationship with Yeshua HaMashiach is like a marriage and He wants to know we are committed to our relationship with Him before He starts to reveal Himself more deeply.
According to the Apostle Paul (Shaul), there is a secret to pulling this all together. It is as Philippians 4:13 proclaims: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” We are to do all things with dependent faith upon the Hashem our Lord. We are not to walk in independent, self-determined, self-sufficiency, but in resting in and trusting in Hashem (God).
Pursuing Shalom (Peace) through Steadfast Prayer
How do we get to Shalom (peace)? We must pray. We must pray that Hashem (God) gives us a hunger and thirst for His Word that would never end, that the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) will reveal his truth to us, and that we will see the glory of Hashem (God). We must know the flesh is going to fight us being in the Word (Romans 7:14-25), but we must keep pushing into the Word until it turns from desire to delight.
This is a battle we win because Hashem (God) promises that He is with us, He will not fail us, nor will He forsake us. He calls us to be strong and courageous for He will enable us to be overcomers. May your hearts sing with the Word, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of Hashem (God), which is in Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah)” (Romans 8:38-39).
Conclusion
If we are not connected to the source of peace, we will fail to experience peace. At times, we allow the busyness of life and the disappointment of our circumstances to distract us from spending time with Hashem (God). Life doesn’t go well, and as a result, we experience a sense that we are missing something.
Hashem (God) instills that sense in us, to remind us to pursue Him. We have a choice at that moment. Will we eliminate the distractions and put boundaries on our busy schedules to connect with Hashem (God), the source of our peace? Hashem (God) offers abundant Shalom (peace) as we pursue and invest in our relationship with Him. Will you commit to the pursuit of Shalom (peace)?
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