Shalom is a Hebrew word, so much richer in its range of meanings than the English word “peace,” which usually refers to the absence of outward conflict or to a state of inner calm. The concept of shalom includes these ideas but goes beyond them, meaning “wholeness,” “completeness,” “finished word,” “perfection,” “safety,” or “wellness.” Shalom comes from living in harmony with God. The fruit of that harmony is harmony with others, prosperity, health, satisfaction, soundness, wholeness, and well-being.
Shalom is a common term for greeting or farewell in modern Israel. When you say shalom, you are not simply saying “Hello,” or “Have a Good Day.” In its deepest meaning, it expresses the hope that the person you are greeting may be well in every sense of the word—fulfilled, satisfied, prosperous, healthy, and in harmony with themselves, others, and God. Shalom is a covenant word, an expression of God’s faithful relationship with his people.
When you pray to Yahweh Shalom(yah-WEH sha-LOME), you are praying to the source of all peace. No wonder his Son is called the Prince of Peace.
Praying to Yahweh Shalom
Here’s a question you may never have asked yourself: “Why don’t zebras ever get ulcers?” This is the title of Robert Spolsky’s book about stress and stress-related diseases. A professor of biology and neurology at Stanford, Spolskly invites his readers to think about how stress usually operates in the animal kingdom:
This is the critical point of this book: if you are that zebra running for your life, or that lion sprinting for your meal, your body’s physiological response mechanisms are superbly adapted for dealing with such short-term physical emergencies. For the vast majority of beasts on this planet, stress is about a short-term crisis, after which it’s either over with or you’re over with. When we sit around and worry about stressful things, we turn on the same physiological responses—but they are potentially a disaster when provoked chronically.[1]
“How many hippos,” he goes on to say, “worry about whether Social Security is going to last as long as they will, or what they are going to say on a first date?” [2]
We humans have the unique ability to stress ourselves out over an infinite variety of things. Just getting out from under this kind of chronic stress would seem like all the peace we need. But God says there’s more, much more.
Let’s put the English word “peace” next to the Hebrew word shalom and compare the two. That’s a little like asking a ninety-pound weakling to stand next to the Incredible Hulk. Our idea of peace is so much thinner than the full-bodied meaning of shalom. When we talk about peace, we often mean a state of calm or an absence of conflict. But the biblical idea of peace is much richer. In fact it bears a striking similarity to the biblical idea of paradise—a place where we are completely at peace with God, ourselves, and others. Instead of sickness, healing. Instead of brokenness, wholeness. Instead of poverty, prosperity. Instead of danger, safety. Instead of death, life. That’s what true shalom is.
No wonder we long for peace and pray for peace. We are wired for it, and our lack of it is galling.
The story of Gideon in the book of Judges is instructive. Gideon is hiding out, terrified of the marauding Midianites, when he hears God’s call. “Mighty warrior,” the angel of the Lord calls to him.
“Who, me? You must be kidding,” Gideon replies. Clearly, we are not dealing with a person possessed with high self-esteem.
But God is talking to him. “I will be with you,” God assures him. And lo and behold, Gideon, the unlikeliest of heroes, ends up driving out the Midianites in a series of clever maneuvers, making him a mighty warrior indeed. What enabled this little man to become a big man? God’s presence, his guidance, and his faithfulness. And Gideon names this God Yahweh Shalom, the Lord is Peace.
What a wonderful title. Notice that Gideon doesn’t say “God of Peace” or "God Gives Peace.” No, he says that God himself is peace. Believing in God’s faithfulness, living in his presence, is what brings us peace regardless of circumstances. Let us pray that God will alert us to his presence and infuse us with his peace.
[1] Robert M. Sapolsky, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (New York: Holt, 2004), 6.
[2] Ibid, 5.
