"God's Shalom/Peace

Have you ever thought of the difference between the peace OF God and the peace WITH God? Is there a difference?

John 14:27 says, "Peace I leave with you, MY peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 

In this verse, our Lord was speaking to His disciples seeking to explain to them "His peace" that He was going to leave to them. He spoke in Hebrew, using the word "shalom".  He would have said to them, "Shalom I leave with you, My shalom I bequeath to you, not as the world gives, I give to you."

 Hebrew is a beautiful language, but when translated into our  English vernacular, we can miss the beauty of it's original intent.   For instance, according to the Strong's Concordance, you will find that the definition of the word shalom, (peace) includes "well-being, health, prosperity", not just peace of mind in the usual sense. The peace that Jesus left behind for us is literally His health and prosperity for our spirit, soul and body.  So when He said,, "My shalom I leave with you", He bequeathed to us as an inheritance, His very own health and prosperity through the person of the Holy 
Spirit.

Even the word "peace" in a Greek lexicon means peace and rest in contrast with strife.  The word denotes the absence or end of strife.  And as influenced by the Hebrew word "shalom", it also means a state of health, a state of untroubled, undisturbed well-being. God's will for us is to live by His Spirit in a perpetual state of shalom. 

Impossible, you say?  It sure is. Apart from Christ there is no peace with God. We must be born again to receive the peace OF God and the peace WITH God.   We may not realize it at first, but as we grow to know His heart, we will learn to rest in His shalom. It will take time.

But, we must always remember that the devil will try to disturb our sense of peace. Don't let him.  We have the privilege of receiving the  same peace that Jesus experienced with His Father, when He walked among men.  He trusted Himself  only to His Father. (John 2:25) By faith as believers, we now have "HIS PEACE" bequeathed to us. We can REST in Him alone for true love, and acceptance. As the Father loves His Son, so He loves His body, the church. We are hidden in Christ in God. (Col. 3:3) 

 His peace is truly not of this world. It is His gift to us and as we grow to understand His Kingdom is within us, we will confess that His kingdom is His " RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE AND JOY in the Holy Spirit", Rom.14:17.  This is just another one of our inheritance in Christ to enjoy in this life.