Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:14.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
If you desire abundant life filled with good days, then seek peace (shalom) and pursue it. I not only tell you to seek shalom peace but I tell you also to pursue it. Pursuing is a whole level above seeking, it is diligently, ardently, relentlessly going after the object of your desire with intent to capture it.
There are certain things I tell you to pursue and certain things I tell you to seek, but it is rare when I tell you to both seek and pursue. But with shalom peace I do.
Shalom is the Hebrew word you translate most often as “peace,” but it is also translated “prosperity,” “wholeness,” “well-being,” and even as “all is well.” It means everything is perfect in your life, complete, with nothing missing, nothing broken, and no one alone. In other words, you have the whole pie of life without a single piece missing. You have good health, great wealth, good relationships, fruitful labor, and no torment, anxiety or fear. It is all the benefits of Psalm 103 in one happy life. Do you know the six benefits listed as yours by Covenant in Psalm 103? I forgive ALL your sins, heal ALL your diseases and pains, rescue you out of the pit, surround you with love and compassion, fill your days with good things, and renew your youth like the eagle. That is shalom.
And do you know the reason I tell you to both seek shalom and pursue it if you want a long life of good days? Because the plans I have for you are shalom and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11. When you seek and pursue shalom, you are seeking and pursuing My Will for your life.
One of My Covenant promise Names is Yahavah Shalom, which means “The LORD is peace.” LORD is Yahavah in Hebrew made up of the letters yod hei vav hei, it is three tenses of the verb “to be” shortened into one Name, meaning “I AM, I was, and I will be”, I am the One is who, who was, and who is to come. So I am, I was, and I will always be Shalom for you. You will notice I did not say I have shalom, I said I am shalom. When you have Me you have everything you need for life and godliness. You have the whole abundant pie of life. David sang, “In You LORD I have found my peace (shalom),” and he was right. In Me you find shalom. And that is My heart’s desire for each of you, a perfect life of shalom, days filled with good things. I desire that in all things you prosper and be in good health, even as your soul (mind, will, and emotions) prospers. And your soul prospers by walking in the truth. My Word is truth and My Word made flesh is the way, the truth, and the life. And He is your peace.
Shalom is more than peace, it is being whole and complete in every area of your life. It is well-being. It is being filled with goodness.
Jesus told you that none was good but God alone. So being filled with goodness is being filled with all the fullness of God. And you can be by My Spirit in you. And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This fruit is another good definition of “shalom.”
The Kingdom of Heaven is one of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. That is shalom also. It is a Kingdom of shalom. Unshakeable peace and unlimited joy.
Shalom comes to you through Jesus. He paid the price for it for you. Let Me show you.
Isaiah foretold it. He wrote “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace (makes us whole), and by His wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5. Upon My Son Jesus was the chastisement—the extraction of the payment due—that brought you shalom (“shalom” is the actual word used here in the original Hebrew).
The root of the word “shalom” is the verb “pay” or “paid in advance.” Even now you sometimes hear people say that peace has a price. It signifies that to have peace something must be paid. Your peace, your wholeness, your well-being had a price—one that you could not pay because Adam had separated all his descendants from Me and bankrupt you all of eternal life and pure blood. There was no peace between us until the debt he owed Me for the eternal life he lost had been paid. And the life is in the Blood. But no one had an eternal life to give and no one had pure blood that was from Adam’s seed. It took the Blood of My Son born of My imperishable Word. He came down from Heaven and became an offering for all of your sins. And He made peace between us by the Blood of His cross. Colossians 1:20. I reconciled the world to Myself in Christ. He is your peace. Since you have been justified by faith, you have peace with Me through your Lord Jesus Christ through Whom you have gained access to the grace in which you stand. Romans 5:1.
Among the sacrificial offerings I instructed Moses to have the Israelites bring to Me to atone for sins as a covering (like a payment on credit to be paid in full by the Blood of My Son) was what is translated as the “peace offering.” Actually, in Hebrew it is not the word “shalom” but “shelamim,” which is plural and requires a payment, an offering, to make peace between Me and you. And what was offered? An unblemished lamb upon which the one making the offering laid his hand on the head of the lamb and then slaughtered it before the meeting tent. Leviticus 3. And the breast and thigh of the peace offering belonged to Aaron the High Priest and his sons to eat as a wave offering and a heave (raised) offering, which when the breast was waved and the thigh heaved made the sign of the cross in the hands of the priests. Leviticus 7:28-35.
Shalom. It cost My Son’s Blood for you to have it. Do not let Him have shed it for you in vain. He told you at the Last Supper: “Peace I leave you, My peace I give you.” John 14:27.
And when He was crucified He paid for that peace and it rushed out of His pierced heart to you. He made peace through the Blood of His Cross. He is your peace offering. Upon Him was the chastisement that makes you whole- that brought you shalom.
And that was His first Word to His disciples when He came through the locked doors in the midst of their fear and unrest and stood in their midst and said one Word: “Shalom” and when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. John 20:19-20. And they rejoiced! Why? He showed them that the price for their shalom had been paid—by His wounds you are healed. He showed them His pierced hands and side. His power and His heart open to them and He had opened the way to Me again that Adam had closed. The peace offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the burnt offering had all been fully satisfied in Him, once for all. He fulfilled and ended the law of animal sacrifice, He died once for ALL.
Peace on earth, good will towards men. We are reconciled in My Son.
You have peace with Me now through Jesus. And when you have peace, you have joy. There is no joy without peace. When you are in fear, strife or division there is no joy—only darkness, pain, and stress.
Imitate Jesus and when the storm hits your life, stand up a speak one Word: “Shalom.” Peace, be still. And I say to you now when things look anything but peaceful in your life, Shalom! I am with you and we are at peace. I am well pleased in you. Do not let your heart be troubled or afraid, My Son has paid in full for your Shalom. You have it. Stand firm and do not let it go. Speak peace and you shall have it. For I speak of peace (shalom) to My people.
Even before Jesus died and paid the price for your shalom in full, the Shunammite woman understood this anchor of hope that moves mountains and raises the dead. When her little son died she refused to let fear and sorrow overtake her. She pursued peace (shalom).
She laid her son on Elisha’s bed (where the anointing—the double portion of My Spirit that had been on Elijah—had rested) and went to get Elisha. When her husband asked her what the problem was and why she was going to get the prophet she refused to discuss the problem. She said only one word, “Shalom”. 2 Kings 4:23. It is well. And when Elisha saw her coming from a distance and told his servant to go and ask her if things were well with her son, she replied with one word to the servant’s question with one word: Shalom. 2 Kings 4:26. It is well.
But then she came and fell at Elisha’s feet and with confidence demanded that he raise her son from the dead. She had faith in Elisha’s Word that she would have a child as being from Me and she knew I would not change My mind or take back the gift I gave her. You should have much greater faith in the One who came to you from Heaven and is One God with Me but now is not only Son of God but also Son of Man. You should have perfect peace at all times, even when it looks like all you hoped for is dead. I can raise up your dreams again, just as I raised her son when she stayed in the shalom that comes from faith in Me. She sought and pursued only Shalom and not evil, a future filled with hope of good things.
And her unshakeable confidence in the anointing did not disappoint her. Elisha came with her to her deceased son. When he arrived in the room with the boy, he closed the door (go to your room, close the door, and pray to Me in private and then I see what no man sees and I will reward you) and then turned to consult Me in prayer. He did as I told him and breathed the anointing (My Spirit) into the boy. And the boy regained life.
When you are in the midst of a storm, whether it be physical, financial, relational, or emotional, refuse to say anything but “Shalom.” Seek and pursue peace! It is well with your soul. All fullness dwells in Christ, and in Him you are complete.
You seek peace and pursue it by speaking it and doing it. In other words doing what Jesus told you when He gave you His peace (shalom).
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. do not let your heart be troubled (in Greek, the original word here was “tarassó,” which means to agitate, to disturb, to stir up, to trouble), nor let it be fearful(“deiliaó”: to be cowardly, living in dread).” John 14:27.
Jesus gave you His shalom at the Last Supper as one of His gifts to you before He gave His life on the Cross. After giving you His Body and Blood in the communion meal, He gave you His peace, His shalom. But He told you that you had a part in guarding that peace so it could guard your hearts and minds in Him.
He is your teacher and He instructed you on how to have His peace that passes all understanding that will keep you hearts and minds in Him. Great peace, shalom, shalom have those whose minds are stayed on Him and you can have that if you do what He tells you. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. DO NOT LET YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED (in Greek, the original word here was “tarassó,” which means to agitate, to disturb, to stir up, to trouble), NOR LET IT BE FEARFUL(“deiliaó”: to be cowardly, living in dread).” John 14:27.
It all starts in your heart, but it does not stay there. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called My sons.
Those who walk in peace, cultivate peace. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:18.
But do you see? You must not be agitating yourself with fearful imaginations of what might happen to you or come to pass from the news you hear or looking at projections of your financial future or concentrating on negative circumstances. You must keep your eyes on My promises and My plans for you. You must keep your eyes on Jesus and your mind above where He is seated at My right hand and not be only focused on what is below. I had to tell Abraham to lift up his eyes to see his inheritance.
Guard your heart for in it are the issues of life. It all starts in your heart. You need to employ the right thoughts to have shalom. Otherwise, you will not. And this again, has to do with running your inner business of the inner man of your heart. This inner kingdom is more real to you than any outside circumstance in determining whether your life will be filled with shalom. In determining whether you will be a person of peace who cultivates peace everywhere your feet, which are shod in the gospel of peace, walk.
And what is the gospel, the good news of peace? The angels sang about peace on earth and good will toward men at My Son’s birth. He brought peace but in a very particular way, namely, I was in Christ reconciling the world to Myself, not counting your trespasses against you but imputing all of your sins to Him and imputing His righteousness to you. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21. For it was My good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Myself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet Jesus has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Me holy and blameless and beyond reproach. Colossians 1:19-23.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, you have peace with Me through your Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also you have obtained your introduction by faith into this grace in which you stand; and you can exult in hope of My glory.
And something amazing happens when you know that we are reconciled by Christ and that I remember your sins and offenses no more. For although Jesus has reconciled you to Me, you are still in this world, which due to Adam’s fall from grace, is corrupted and sinful until My Son returns to give you your glorified body and I make all things new, so you will have trials in this life and you still will need to watch out for the devil’s tactics and never employ his thoughts in your inner business, as they are very unprofitable employees to spend your day with. But once you understand who you are in Christ and the authority He gives you and that you have in you by My Spirit, you will exult in your tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because My love which is stronger and higher than any force in the world has been poured out within your hearts through the Holy Spirit who I have given to you through Christ Jesus.
If you learn how to fight the evil one with the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony, you will actually start enjoying the fight because when you fight with those spiritual weapons against the strongholds of the enemy you cannot lose. And victory is always sweet. You will find yourself willing to not only be fighting for yourself but for those who don’t know how to fight and are being constantly defeated by the devil and never knowing he is the problem for he has blinded their eyes.
And the peace I give comes not from your own doing, it is not like the peace the world gives for the world’s peace is not a lasting peace and has no solid foundation. It comes from knowing and believing in My power and My love, which both are working on your behalf to make all things work together for good for you who love Me and are called according to My purpose, which is to reconcile all things to Myself in Christ. I want all men to be saved and come to know the truth that is in Christ Jesus alone.
While you were yet sinners, Christ died for you. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, you shall be saved from My just wrath through Him. For if while you were enemies I reconciled you to Myself through the death of My Son, much more, having been reconciled, you shall be saved by His life. And you can exult in Me as your very own through your Lord Jesus Christ, through whom you have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:1-10. He has made you Mine and made Me yours. He put your hand in Mine, cleansed of all sin, and I have hold of your hand and I will never let go.
Nothing can ever separate you from the love I have for you in Christ Jesus your Lord. Romans 8:39. Be at peace. I am well pleased in you. You have washed your robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. I find no fault in you. And that was My plan from the start. You are most beautiful to Me. Begin to see yourself that way and walk in the light of My love and let the Blood of My Son continually cleanse you of all sin. It is eternal.
But you must watch your thoughts. Do not let your heart be troubled, do not let it be afraid. When the disturbing thoughts come, fire them, and hire Mine. Have you hired humility? She is a most wonderful employee and she will open you up to receiving great grace. For I resist the proud but give grace to the humble.
If you are having problems in any area of your life, it all starts in your heart, but it does not stay there. A cheerful heart is a good medicine and will bless you and all you contact. Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart unto Me; always giving thanks for all things in the name of your Lord Jesus Christ unto Me, your very own Forever Father. Ephesians 18-20. And then you will have peace for the thoughts you choose to employ will either be your counselors and friends or they will wickedly torment you. And you have control over that. Take the peace My Son gave you and employ her. She is a great employee and will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Choose the thoughts you wish to employ and concentrate on those things. You can choose what thoughts you wish to employ. Why would you want to trouble and disturb yourself all day and night? It is time you took stock of the thoughts you have been employing and fired a few. It will give you much joy. And peace.
You will go out with joy and be led forth with peace. Isaiah 55:12. These are two of your best employees and both are part of the Holy Spirit’s production team. Galatians 5:22-23.
Isn’t it time you came to know My Holy Spirit? It is then your adventures will begin, filled with peace. For My Kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
I love you. Seek Peace. Pursue Peace. Employ peace. Cultivate peace. And guard peace in your heart. And remember it was bought for you by the precious Blood of the Lamb, your LORD Jesus Christ. So plead the Blood on all nations for that true shalom of knowing Me and the one I sent, Jesus Christ your Lord. He is the peace offering. Bring Him to My altar of prayer.
Shalom, shalom! And what do you answer? Shalom, shalom