YAHWEH SHALOM - The Lord Our Peace
What are we to do when we are worried, troubled, distressed, afraid?
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
Disturbing statistics
I read very disturbing statistics about peace in our world. It is estimated that since the beginning of recorded history, the entire world has been at peace less than 8 percent of the time. This means, of the 3530 years of recorded history, only 286 years have been years of peace. In the same period, mankind has signed and broken over 8,000 peace treaties. The period has witnessed 14,351 wars (both large and small), in which about 3.64 billion people have been killed.
Between 1990 and 2017, the number of people killed in homicides increased from 362,000 to 464,000. In the same period, armed conflicts recorded about a million deaths, about the same as deaths related to criminal activities.
There is increasing concern that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 which seeks to “reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere” will not be met by 2030.
If we add the over 700,000 people who die due to suicide each year, then the picture becomes very grim.
Is peace eluding us?
We are at a crossroads.
We do not have peace in our hearts, and so we are willing to take our own lives. We do not have peace in our homes, and so homicides are rising. We do not have peace in our communities, and so violent crime is on the rise, and we cannot have peace in the world because of increasing wars and conflict.
Where then do we turn to for peace?
Is it surprising that many young people already seem to give up on life? The statistics show that suicide is the fourth highest cause of death among youth aged 15 and 29 years.
Are we surprised to see the rise in opioid and fentanyl use? When people find no peace within themselves, they hide behind “something” and unfortunately the “something” available now is fentanyl.
What is the best man can do?
The best man can do with all his intelligence and resources is to broker a truce. But the statistics are stacked against the success of truces. And the earlier we understand that there is a considerable difference between peace and a truce, the better.
Already many of us are skeptical about the current efforts to stop the Russia-Ukraine War.
The former President, Herbert Hoover, captures this beautifully when he said,
"Peace is not made at the Council table or by treaties, but in the hearts of men."
Understand the cause of the problem
To understand why peace has eluded the hearts of man, you need to read carefully the Book of Judges.
“All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel”. (Judges 29:18)
The worst legacy a parent can bequeath to their children, is not to point them in the way of the Lord.
Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live on the land which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 31:13)
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
We are raising a generation of children “who do not know God” and because they do not know God, “there is no fear of God before their eyes” and so they only “do what is right in their eyes” which has led to the situation where we find no peace within us, no peace in our homes, no peace in our communities, and no peace in our countries.
In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6)
The Apostle Paul emphasizes this point in Romans 3:18
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
When there is no fear of God before our eyes, it leads us to do evil:
“And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. (Judges 2:11)
If you read Romans chapter 3 from the verses 10 through 18, Paul paints the picture of the behavior of a people who have “no fear of God before their eyes”
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
How then can we find peace in such a world?
Leviticus 26:3-6 gives us the answer.
“If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land”.
God is calling us to Himself. He is calling for obedience. Obedience to the fact that “without Him, we can do nothing”. Obedience means we “have put the fear of God back into our eyes”. Obedience means we acknowledge that God has sent His Son to be our peace!
The peace of God is found in His Son, Jesus Christ.
What kind of peace does God bring?
When we obey the commandments of God to make Jesus the Lord of our lives, we experience day-to-day peace in our own lives.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:8)
When we obey the Word of God, our struggles with God end and we have the peace of mind, heart, and soul which makes us live at peace with all men.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1)
May the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’ (Number 6:24-26)