Prince of Peace - Jehovah Shalom

In this life peace can be an elusive thing. To some it would be no conflicts of aggression in the world; to others it means not having any problems such as money or family trouble; to some it would be finding the perfect high to relieve the deep sorrow of their soul. But these things are all circumstantial and they flow like a tide in and out of our lives.

There are symbols that the world recognizes as meaning peace. There is the hand gesture with middle and fore finger extended in a "V" that became a popular sign to flash in a hello or goodbye in the 1960's among the college crowd. There is the circle divided by thirds and the bottom third divided in half again that is often seen on shirts and notebooks and jewelry. For the Christian, we see a particular instrument of death and torture and remember an act of love on a hill outside of Jerusalem a few years after AD 30 and know it represents true peace. Symbols serve to remind us or to inform us, but they do not hold the truth of the ideal unless the one viewing it understands that ideal also.

Real peace comes in the form of deep abiding knowledge that God is bigger than our circumstances and that He cares about our lives personally and individually; so that what is bothering us, matters to Him. In that knowledge we can choose to trust Him to do what is best and to use our situations to bring about good, even when our eyes see nothing good.

There are two names in scripture that offer us a better understanding of our God as the God of peace: Jehovah-Shalom and Prince of Peace. These two are a name and title. Jehovah-Shalom is one of a list of names connected to the personal name Jehovah. The second part offers us a picture or information about His character. Jehovah-Shalom means "the Lord our Peace" (Judges 6:24). He is literally peace. Prince of Peace is part of a list of titles given in the book of Isaiah in a prophecy concerning the Messiah. (Is. 9:6).

Jehovah-Shalom is revealed to us in a book that shows the continual decline and rebellion of the nation of Israel. They would rebel; God would call to them. They would continue to rebel; He would send oppressors. They would repent and turn to Him. Against the backdrop of this constant turmoil and hearts poisoned by rebellion God reveals his nature and the answer to our turmoil. He is our peace, literally. Whether the rebellion is our hearts that cause us trouble or that of someone we love, even if it is not necessarily out right rebellion, but more of a set of bad choices made in moments of ambiguity and misinformation, the tremor of fear in the hearts of those who care, is a real force. Perhaps it is a circumstance that just is, not born of rebellion at all. Perhaps it is a time of testing or uncertainty. The need for an assurance of the soul and spirit that Someone knows and is in control of what we cannot control is a very real need.

As a parent, I know these moments come too often throughout the teen years and early adult years. Those moments come in like a tidal wave and consume us, flipping our very existence in tumbles, flopping us one minute in our guts and then smashing us hard against the bottom of the situation. All the while we are just trying desperately to catch a breath and get our bearings. I can think of nothing more frightening than those moments as a parent watching as your child reaches into the world beyond you and you know that what they reach for will burn them and scar them and you frantically stretch to pull them away, keep them safe, but they are out of your grasp and you can do nothing but pray.

Our family faced a need for His peace this week when our four month old grandson reached out and caught hold of a bowl of boiling water pulling it over and scorching his little arm, chest, and thigh. He was taken to the ER and trasferred to a burn center where the doctors and nurses used their skill and knowledge to not only treat him, but the parents as well, as they comforted and set them at ease as much as is humanly possible in such a situation. My daughter told me that during that time she kept having the words of a worship song run through her head and she found herself pouring herself into worship before God and in that worship she found His peace, the peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7). That is our Prince of Peace. We worship and give him what is His due and we receive from it. No one finds peace in the burn center where their child is being treated. But in that place where she met Him there was peace that carried her forward and allowed her to trust her God more deeply.

Isn't it so good of our God to give us the vehicle of prayer and worship to come to Him when we are not able to do something? When we are not able, He is. When we cannot make it better, He can. When we cannot reach, He can. When our hearts quake inside us with fear, He doesn't. He knows already. He is there already. He allows us to participate in His work through prayer and to offer Him worship (which we need as much as prayer). He could do it without us. He is omnipotent, able in all, fully and completely competent to complete the task without any help. But for our sakes, He allows us a place in His plan. It's part of His plan. Imagine that. He did.

More than having something to do, He also gives us something to cling to, for He is the very peace we crave, we need, we long for. Please don't misunderstand what I am saying. It is not an easy thing to trust God when the power of that tidal wave is flipping your thoughts, feelings, fears, and sapping the strength through the struggle to survive. It is not easy, but it is possible. Moment by moment. With each new toss or flip, making the choice to trust Him over the Fear that screams at you that this is destruction. Nope, what the devil means for harm, God, our Big and Mighty, All Consuming, All Powerful God, that God, He means it for good. Guess who wins? Jehovah-Shalom is present and available in the person of Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace.

Why Prince? Because a prince is a ruler and His position gives Him the authority to rule over our circumstances and our fear. That is His designated responsibility (one of them). Not only is it who He is by nature and character (Jehovah-Shalom), it is part of His job description (Prince of Peace). It's on His list of chiores, "bring peace to those who fear - check." It is good for me to remember as an American who is firmly grounded in my freedoms, that there is a system of dependence in the Kingdom of Heaven. I need to depend on my Prince to be able to stand in faith. My faith will wobble and stumble unless I keep my eyes on Him and choose to trust Him. As I trip about or as those waves crash against me, I am reminded that my Prince of Peace is the one who walked on the waves and slept through the storm until His frightened fishermen followers (say that ten times fast) woke Him. Then He stood in the gale and spoke the words that hushed creations's groan, "Peace," and all at once the waves lay down and the wind stopped its shout and those men looked at each other with wide eyes and said, "Who is this that commands the waves?" Messiah, Prince of Preace, Jehovah-Shalom.

So the next time that tidal wave is picking you up and sweeping you, tumbling you, taking your breath away, call out to the One who steps into the tidal wave like it's a mud puddle and calms the storm of our life. Not necessarily taking away the sound effects or the brilliant screen play that's unfolding before you, but allowing you to breathe, to stand, and to see our God more clearly, more intimately. Trust Him. Fear controls and sets you in chains; peace releases you from it.

Today I bid you Shalom, His shalom.