“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3, NASB 95)

The Hebrew word for peace is shalom, which conveys the idea of much more than a lack of hostility or trouble, it carries the idea of complete wellbeing, a sense that everything is right and good. In this verse, Isaiah writes shalom shalom, the repetition indicating that it is ultimate peace or shalom he has in mind, therefore the translators use the English “perfect peace” to convey this idea.

This verse claims that those who have their hope fixed entirely on God will experience perfect peace. This implies that if I am not experiencing perfect peace at any moment in time, it is because my focus is on something other than God.

The story recorded in Matthew 14:22-33 of Peter walking on the water is a perfect illustration of this. When Peter focused on Jesus he was fine and stayed above the waves. But when he focused on his circumstances, he floundered and began to drown.

As I have aged, the world around me seems larger and more chaotic and at the same time, I have an increasing understanding of how little influence or control I have over my circumstances. This can lead to frustration, and is probably the biggest reason some old people become very cranky later in life.

Youth brings an energy to life and when one is young, it is easier to think that if sufficient effort is applied, any obstacle can be overcome. At least, in a relatively safe neighborhood in a safe country in which freedoms are granted, one can think along these lines.

Recently I read part of the biography of Corrie Ten Boom to my grandchildren. In Nazi occupied Holland, no such delusion could be supported. They encountered evil of the highest magnitude and had little influence on the outcome. No amount of effort on Corrie’s part could ultimately thwart the evil perpetrated by the Nazis.

Is it possible to have shalom shalom even when there are aspects of life that make me want to curl up in a ball and hide under the covers? Yes, it is possible and I can say that there are fleeting moments of time when I have experience such peace.

I also have people like Corrie Ten Boom who can testify to finding that peace.

Perhaps it would be good to reflect on the verses Paul included at the end of the eighth chapter of Romans:

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35–39, NASB 95)

Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Knowing that is a sufficient foundation on which to build peace, perfect peace.

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