If I could describe the entire world in one word it would be: loud. Deafening. We are bombarded daily with news stories, acts of hate, negativity, and fear. From the time we wake up in the morning, until we go to sleep we are surrounded by so many voices saying so many things. A study recently done by CIO Technologies revealed just how immersed we are by all this noise. There are 31.25 million Facebook messages or posts a minute, 347,722 Tweets per minute, 48,611 Instagram photos uploaded per minute, 527,760 Snaps per minute, and 300 Youtube videos uploaded per minute. The average American is seeing nearly 5,000 advertisements a day. This is amounting to people struggling with anxiety and depression at an all time high. Anxiety as a “mental illness” affects 40 million American adults, Major Depressive Disorder affects 15 million, Panic Disorder affects 6 million, and Social Anxiety Depression affects 15 million.
But I do not think this a surprise for Jesus considering He warned of this very thing. In Matthew 24:6-7 Jesus addresses his disciples saying, “You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed… Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” Jesus understood that part of living in a fallen world is that we will have to endure Satan’s schemes. We have to endure the fear and worry that he carefully spreads throughout the world. But God does not ask us to be controlled by it, but rather He gives us a way to overcome it… He gives us Shalom.
Shalom is used 237 times in the Old Testament and became a central tenant of the Old Law. In fact, God Himself said that His covenant with Israel “…was one of life and shalom” (Malachi 2:5) and that He, through the covenant, will grant His people shalom (Numbers 25:12). But what does shalom mean? In its shortest definition, shalom is defined as “peace” or “tranquility”, but in the Bible it means so much more than that. There are two major ways it is used in the Bible and by examining its two uses we can find two ways to achieve a “shalom” life.
Firstly, the word is used to mean “peace from completeness”. In the Bible, men and women of faith often found peace when they felt complete and whole. But this peace does not mean to find peace from our PHYSICAL wholeness, but by our SPIRITUAL wholeness. We as Christians should dwell in a state of peace that cannot be shaken, because we have peace from the forgiveness we have in Christ. Our soul is secured by the cross of Calvary, so, as long as we remain faithful, what have we to fear? This life is simply a glimpse of the life we are to have eternally in a land free of Satan and his noise.
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Secondly, the word is used to mean “peace with God and Man”. The God of peace (Philippians 4:7), offers us a covenant of peace (Ezekiel 34:24-25) by a counselor of peace (Zechariah 6:13) so that we could flow a river of peace (Isaiah 48:18) to the world who needs it (Isaiah 66:12). Peace is essential. Peace is a key part of what we believe and the covenant we are saved by. If that is true, and if we live by that, then it is our responsibility to bring peace to a world consumed by the fear and noise of Satan.
We have peace from our completeness. We have peace with God and man. We as Christians serve a Shalom-God and must live shalom-lives for the sake and salvation of a shalom-less world.
Bishop Darby
