Today’s Devotional Theme Pursue Peace
Daily ScriptureIsaiah 32:17; Matthew 5:9
“The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever…”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Encouragement
Shalom. It’s one of the few Hebrew words that even non-believers know. You can look it up in English dictionaries. The fundamental idea behind peace is the absence of war. That’s about as useful as defining light as the absence of darkness. Although shalom is usually translated “peace,” to a Hebrew the word connotes inner harmony, composure, wellness, security, and absence of strife with the family or with friends and neighbors. It sometimes serves as a stand-in for wealth. The phrase “seek peace” shows up a number of times in both the Old and New Testaments. It’s a place of inner being that’s well worth the effort to seek and pursue; to the ancient Hebrews shalom was more valuable than silver and gold (1 Peter 3:11b, “Let him [who loves life] seek peace and pursue it.”). In Israel you’ll often hear a person say “shalom, shalom” to someone with whom they’re parting company. In contrast to the Greek eirene which basically means social or military peace, the broader-spectrum shalom is more often an inner, personal quality.
Apply God’s Word
The outcome of righteousness or remaining in good standing with God is peace. So says Isaiah 32:17. God grants to His children an inner composure that the world cannot offer (John 14:27). In her retrospective The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom repeatedly marvels at the equanimity her older sister Betsie shows in the teeth of unspeakably horrible conditions in a German concentration camp. Corrie credits her sister with helping her survive her years-long ordeal without going crazy. Shortly before she died, Betsie told Corrie, “There is no pit so deep that He [God] is not deeper still.” That’s quintessential shalom. From the Hebrew viewpoint, a better translation of the Beatitude Jesus spoke in Matthew 5:9 is “Joyful are those who pursue peace, for they shall be called children of God.”
Come into His Presence
Lord God, the Author and Finisher of all that is good, we thank You that through You – and only through You – we can have true peace. Lord, I acknowledge that bad happenings still upset me. Make us more and more like Corrie and Betsie ten Boom – so firmly rooted and grounded in You that we can remain unflappable no matter what happens to us, up to and including death over our faith in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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