Peace. freedom from disturbance; tranquility. The Bible’s definition: šālôm, translated in the Septuagint most often by the Greek word, eirēnē, has a wide semantic range including the notions of totality or completeness, success, fulfillment, wholeness, harmony, security and well being. 

Are you at peace today? In looking at the words of the definition- tranquility, security, well being, it would appear through social media, news reports and anecdotally through my own discussions with friends and family, that most people are feeling at odds and not peaceful at all.

I find peace to be paradoxical. There are times when I should be anxious and unsettled and I am not. I feel calm and peaceful. When there is a big crisis or problem, I can be clear headed, compartmentalize what needs to be done and dive right in. I wouldn’t say that I am the best in crisis and I would never boast about it (partly for fear that through some cosmic whammy I would be given a whopper of a problem) but I have experienced and witnessed enough to know that I could (and have) survive(d) through some big issues.

At other times, the littlest pebble of disruption will ripple my still pond. I get anxious, upset and irritable. Those days I do not handle the small things well. AT ALL. There is no peace in my life (and I am afraid in my household) on those days.

How do we cultivate peace? How can we be free from disturbances in our minds and actions? How do we promote peace? To move toward wholeness and harmony?

For me it is all about my faith. Not in me or anything I can do but in God and what He has and can do. It is all about letting go of control.

This pandemic has taught me a bunch of lessons and one of the biggest is about control. In some ways the big things are easier for me to relinquish control. Since there is no way I can do anything about circumstances, like the spread of the corona virus and subsequent shut-down of society, I am for the most part not worrying about it. But, the small things like planning when/if we can travel to our Cape house to get it ready to rent this summer is something about which I am unsettled. It is hard for me to just let things go and unfold without my “input” and not have a plan which I have constructed.

I am comforted by the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” When I trust that God has things in control- both big and small- I am at peace. The peace that Jesus gives us is the shalom, the wellbeing and harmony of being reconciled with God. Part of that reconciliation is recognizing that we are not perfect people and we cannot have peace within ourselves or others apart from God.

It is not a once and done thing. It is a daily sanctification of choosing to let God be in control, to let Him be the guide and in charge of my thoughts, actions and reactions. It is letting Jesus’ peace seep into my very marrow. It is being, at times, counter intuitive to what the world says: trust no one, look out for #1, do whatever it takes to survive, you are in control. The thing is, that type of thinking only makes us anxious and disturbed because sooner or later we will realize that we cannot control life, that we need one another and that looking out for only ourselves (and doing whatever we want and not being considerate of others) is very lonely and potentially deadly (as this virus has shown).

While Jesus also reminded his followers that there will be trouble and difficulties in this life, the ideal of a peaceable kingdom can begin now- heaven on earth until such time when there will be a new heaven and earth. I can be part of the building of that peaceable kingdom by offering shalom to others: to aid one another in achieving wholeness, to promote harmony among people, to encourage each one of us to be reconciled with God.

What about you? Peaceful today? In this moment that I am writing this post, I can say that I do feel at peace. While I know that unsettling circumstances are swirling around me, I am choosing to not let my heart be troubled. I am choosing to accept the peace that Jesus gives me. I am choosing to be a peace-maker.

Click here to learn more about the painting.

Edward Hicks painted many versions of The Peaceable Kingdom, taking the theme from a passage from the Book of Isaiah, 11:6-8, which tells of all the animals gathering together in harmony. Hicks recast the Biblical text as a poem:

The wolf did with the lambkin dwell in peace.

His grim carnivorous nature there did cease

The leopard with the harmless kid laid down

And not one savage beast was seen to frown

The lion with the fatling on did move

A little child was leading them in love.