Prince of Peace

         " You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."
                                                                                                                                ( Isaiah 26:3)



     Humanity is fascinated with royalty.  This fascination extends beyond all cultural boundaries.  We observe the pomp and circumstance of their weddings and admire their royal regalia.  Little girls try to emulate the grace and mannerisms of princesses and queens. Companies like Disney have amassed fortunes because of this very phenomena.

     The reason we are drawn to royalty is because we are designed to desire it.  Jesus is referred to as a Prince and the King above all kings.  When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we also are adopted into His royal lineage.  The apostle Peter describes God's children as " a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation [and] God's special possession." ( 1 Peter 2:9).

     Jesus is our Prince of Peace.  Whether we are aware of it or not, God has placed a longing in our souls to be connected to the One who brings true peace.  Many of us assume that having peace means to have a tranquil mind or a calm heart. And yet, the Hebrew word ' Shalom'  means so much more!
The definition of ' Shalom' is:  "completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfection, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord".

     God desires for us to have complete wholeness in every area of our lives.  Because Jesus completed the work on Calvary, it becomes our inheritance when we place our trust in Him.  He longs to bring 'Shalom' to our past, our present, and our future.

     This peace is not something we can achieve on our own.  God purposefully designed it to be attached to Himself.  C. S. Lewis says, " God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there.  There is no such thing."

     So, if we are in Christ and He has given us the gift of peace, why does 'Shalom' still evade so many of us?  I believe it is because it is difficult to acknowledge the areas of our lives that we need to trust Him more.  It is quite possible to have strong faith in certain parts of our lives while we have minimal or no faith in others.

     First, we must have peace with our past.  Shame and rejection are often the biggest barriers to experiencing wholeness in this area.  Christians can unwittingly avoid dealing with the past and even attempt to find the scriptural basis to do so.  However, there will never be total freedom in Christ until we do so.  We must have the faith to believe that Jesus exchanged our shame and rejection for His glory and acceptance. We are the image bearers of Christ who manifest His glory on this earth.

     If we are humiliated by our own actions and sins before we accepted Christ, it is easy to become bogged down by the burden and the weight of it.  These consuming thoughts lack the faith to believe that God remembers our sin no more when we confess it to Him and turn from it.  Charles Spurgeon says, "Great thoughts of your sin alone will drive you to despair; but great thoughts of Christ will pilot you into the haven of peace."

     Grief and trauma can also be components of our past.  God knows each one of our personalities, relationships, and experiences. He knows that our grief is a unique journey and He is never shocked by our responses. When we can trust God to carry our grief, He will tenderly remove the sadness and replace it with His perfect peace.  Ultimately, this peace becomes the joy and strength from which we begin to minister to others.  Thomas A. Kempis, a fifteenth century theologian, says, " First you keep the peace within yourself, then you can bring peace to others."

     To have peace in our present circumstances requires walking in faith.  With so much currently  going on in the world and in our individual lives, it can be easy to focus on the wrong things. What we meditate on will determine our level of peace.

     A. W. Pink expounds upon this precept.  He says, " So long as we are occupied with any other object than God Himself, there will be neither rest for the heart nor peace for the mind.  But when we receive all that enters our lives as from His hand, then, no matter what may be our circumstances or surroundings- whether in a hovel or prison or dungeon, or at a martyr's stake- we shall be enabled to say, ' The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places' ( Psalm 16:6).  But that is the language of faith, not of sight nor of sense."

     Whatever it is that we need, we can be assured that God will provide it. Provision is His responsibility and His Word promises that He will supply our fundamental needs. Paul even stated,
" My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
( Philippians 4:19).

     Because we have Jesus, we can also have peace as it relates to our future.  Even during turbulent times, God still guarantees us we can have His peace. The prophet, Isaiah, tells us, " 'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you." ( Isaiah 54:10).

     When we read the final chapter of the Bible, we know we can have hope.  Anne Graham Lotz
defines hope as follows: " Biblical hope is absolute confidence in something you haven't seen or received yet, but you're absolutely confident that whatever God has said is going to come to pass."  She also declares that " Jesus is your hope for the future.  One day Jesus Christ will come back, and He will set all of the wrong right.  Good will triumph over bad.  Love will triumph over hate.  Righteousness will triumph over evil.  He's going to make it all right, and you can have absolute confidence that that's going to take place.  That's your hope."

     God still reigns.  His supremacy will never be thwarted.  Today, our Prince of Peace extends His sceptor to our lives to bring complete peace to our past, present, and future.  All we have to do is enter into the rest  He provides.  Will you receive His gift?


" Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you. "  ( 2 Thessalonians 3:16).