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Peace, The Deepest Yawning of Man's Heart

By David Pam McQuel

The end of man's quest is peace.

If I have money to take care of my needs, my worries, my family and my health, I will be at peace. My mind will be at rest if I am not sick. I will be at peace if I find a good paying job. When my business thrives I will be at peace. If I can afford my medications, I will be at rest. What will give me peace of mind is when my kids are married. When I'm through with my education I will have peace. When my dad's health improves I will be at rest. When my son gets off drugs and bad friends I will be at rest. I can't find peace unless this divorce is over. As long as I am in this town, I will have no peace.

Unless he is in jail, my life is not safe. Unless I pay off this loan, I shall have not peace. As long as there is the threat of homelessness, how can I have peace? The fear of war breaking out takes away every drop of peace from this city. There is no peace between my daughter and I. Unemployment is the biggest threat to peace in this country.

The list of such expressions is as long as long as the beaches of the world. The most repeated word is peace.
The secular definition of peace is calm and absence of conflict. When warring parties in Kosovo, Liberia, Sudan or Syria agree to end or halt the conflict, the media calls it peace. Although tensions remain, fear persists and mistrust even heightens, it is still considered peace, fragile as it may be.

This definition of peace is limited to human mind. It is unassuring, inconsistent and unpredictable. If we look among the nations of the earth, there is very few places that are calm. Violence has escalated, the value of life has diminished, man has become very brutal, non tolerant and uncompassionate.

The greatest promise of God to man included peace
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

The New Testament teaching on the recreated human spirit puts peace at the centre of God's new life in Christ:
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

The Scriptural definition of peace is interesting. It is rooted in Jewish teaching and in God's dealings with the children of Israel. The word translated peace in ancient and modern Hebrew is Shalom.

The word had many components and variations in interpretation. Its a compound word that connoted among other things the following five interpretations:
1. Security and safety: Security is protection. It is the assurance of protection from harm or danger. Israel had many national enemies, and they constantly relied on Jehovah's protection from their aggression.
2. Welfare and prosperity: God promised Israel that obedience to God will reward them with physical and material wellbeing. Physical and material wellbeing brings about harmony and tranquility. Deuteronomy 28:1If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth... Deuteronomy 28:10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you.

At every single time Israel disobeyed God, part of their punishment in exile or under colonization was the absence of welfare.
2Chronnicles 15:3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law...5 In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress.

3. Above all, reconciliation with God: This above everything else is the true expression of peace. If everything works well but you are either scared of God or He is mad at you. Jesus is the Prince of peace. When I received Christ, the first thing that happened to me was the peace of God flooding my heaving which brought about spontaneous joy.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Man can forego all other needs. Man CANNOT afford to forego this particular peace. It is the primary
4. Preservation: This word means to keep from decay, corruption or destruction. It means to keep whole. 

No Scripture in Old Testament describes this as Psalms 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Will all the crisis, turmoil, violence and hopelessness in the world today, ONLY Jesus can give you all the peace you need. And TOTALLY FREE.
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