Shalom!
Soloist Vera Lynn, in an interview I watched recently, was pleased and somewhat amazed that the song she sang sixty five years ago is at the top of the charts now in 2009. This famous song, White Cliffs of Dover, seems to capture the longing of every generation: the longing for peace, not only peace on earth but peace within. There is something promising in the lyrics “There’ll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover, tomorrow, just you wait and see. There’ll be love and laughter and peace ever after, when the world is free.” Could it be that peace and freedom go hand in hand?
Gideon, a ruler in Israel, discovered peace when Jehovah-Shalom, “the LORD our Peace”, met him at a time of uncertainty both within Gideon’s nation and within Gideon’s heart. Israel was being harassed by enemies because of Israel’s forsaking of the Lord. Gideon’s foreboding disappeared when the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.”
I have been told that God says about 365 times in the Bible, “Fear not!” Shalom, the Hebrew word for “peace,” is sometimes used as a word of greeting “hello” or a word of parting “good-bye.” However it is more often used to depict a life that enjoys the kind of peace that results from wholeness of life when there is peace with God, with oneself and with others. Invest some time in the Bible: Judges 6 and Philippians 4 in light of knowing actual peace in our lives. Shalom!
October 19th, 2009 - 19:23
Isn’t it just like our Father to give us 365 uses of the words “Fear not?” That’s once for every day of the year. If we could just wake up every day and use one of those “Fear not”s, every day would be joyful and God-ful. And if we could wish each person we meet “Shalom”, I wonder whether peace would indeed become a way of life? Perhaps we should, as well as investing time in our Bibles, invest a word of peace through Christ to our fellow man.