Peace Be Still

What is true peace? Find out as we continue our series on the fruit of the Spirit.

Peace is the third fruit mentioned in Galatians 5:22. When a parent is highly stressed, you may hear them say they need some peace and quiet. Many ascribe to the belief that peace can be found by relaxing on a beach or going on a vacation. When there are no wars to fight, the United States military call this peacetime suggesting that peace is heavily associated with there being a lack of conflict. Like many of the words in the English language, peace means something different to everyone. Merriam-Webster defines peace as a state of tranquility or quiet. While this may sound calming, it lacks substance in the sense that it only focuses on one type of peace. To understand this fruit, we must take our study to the ultimate source so that the pieces can be put together and we can see the full picture.

Peace can take on a different meaning for everyone.

The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom. At its core, shalom means harmony, completeness, and wholeness. Peace is used over 400 times in the bible and it typically referred to completing a thing or restoring to whole. For example, in Job 5:24, the scripture says that you shall know that your tent is at peace – or shalom. Proverbs 16:7 speaks in terms of the restoration of a relationship, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” In the old testament, it was custom for the offending neighbor to repay – or restore to whole – the non-offending neighbor that had lost something (see Exodus 22:4). These verses of scripture give us good start so let’s continue.

There are three types of peace. They include inner peace, outer peace, and false peace. We will dig into each one of these individually as we continue building. Biblical peace applies to three essential relationships: our relationship with God as this is the most important relationship that anyone can have; our relationship with others since God did not create us to do life alone; and our relationship with ourselves since we should be examining ourselves daily in order to truly grow and live a life that is pleasing to our heavenly Father.

The bible tells us that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33). It does not say peace, it says trouble. We could shut the book after that reference alone! This verse reveals that the world is unable to know peace. It helps us to understand that we cannot experience peace apart from God. This is contrary to the world, as their definition makes no mention of the spiritual significance of being connected to God. Society presents a deceptive image of peace. This is what we call false peace and it is what many people experience without even knowing it. True peace requires restoration of something that has been broken. Jesus came to give us His peace and the Holy scriptures tell us that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus (Romans 5:1).

Even when things are chaotic, men and women who follow close after Jesus can keep their peace. The bible tells us that there is a peace which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). This is the peace of God and it clearly references an inner peace that is not experienced in our society because of the lack of fellowship that many have with the Father. In another frequently used verse of scripture, we see that the atmosphere was literally changed when Jesus said “Peace, be still” in Mark 4:39. This shows an outer peace which can be manifested by our words and visibly seen.

With this information, we can safely conclude that the world does not know what peace is. This is because peace can only come through having a relationship with Jesus and being in true fellowship with the Holy Spirit. We can also conclude that this is what separates the believer from the unbeliever and peace is one of the many benefits the we get as children of The Most High. This is what allows a believer to remain calm and seemingly unfazed by the tests and trials that come since our confidence and hope is placed in the Master and not in ourselves. We take God at His word and we have no need for worry because of it.