Encouragement
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05/16/23
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When Jesus began his ministry, it is noted that He spoke as one with authority. Is He not the Word? Does He not have complete understanding and authority of the word?
Most of the time when I see the word shalom, I equate it to peace. What is peace to me? I get a lot of different pictures roaming through my mind. When I consider the word peace. It causes me to recall a day of walking on the beach.
Most of my adult life has been as a single mom, which can be quite hectic at times. My last three sons were still in the home, and were quite young. I remember being so exhausted. I never expressed this to my pastor or his wife; really, I never expressed it to anyone, maybe they could see it. I don’t know.
The women of the church had planned a weekend women’s retreat at Virginia Beach. I had not planned to go. Honestly, I don’t recall even considering it. My pastor reached out to me and told me that they had paid so that I could attend the retreat. He and some of the other men at the church planned to care for the boys over the weekend so tha I could go. I remember being really tickled because my boys were such a hand full, but if they felt as though they could do it, ok. I still laugh about it today (twins and a big brother that was barely two years older.)
When we arrived it was chilly, cloudy and dristling. It was summer, but there was no indication of that in the weather for the weekend. After getting settled I remember going for a walk on the beach. Like I said, it was chilly, cloudy and dristling. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I remember the cool, cool breeze and the spray of mist on my face as I walked the beach. I purposefully raised my face towards the breeze to feel the cool impact of the misty spray. What an intense tranquility. What sweet peace that stilled my soul. I could either just stand there by the beach, with my eyes closed, listening to wave after wave hit the shore, while the cool misty rain sprayed upon my face, or walk and enjoy the sound of the waves, the breeze and chilly mist. It all was peace, tranquil peace.
That day, I experienced such a deep inner peace; such a sweetness. Rest for my heart and soul. The Lord’s presence surrounded me with His tranquil presence . Yes, I would call that peace. It was a deep still comfort. As I reminisce today (almost twenty years later), it still causes me to breathe a deep sigh. After all this time, I continue to experience the Lord’s presence and the release of anxiety and still quietness just from thinking of this lovely memory. He blessed me that day with that experience, and I will treasure the memory as long as I live. Such a wonderful, wonderful quiet settling of my soul. Such an awesome gift.
Though I experienced that comfort, I didn’t understand what I was truly experiencing. For shalom encompasses more than the feeling of tranquil peace and quiet. That may be the experience of the aftermath of what has happened (in the spirit) because of shalom, because of the Prince of Peace.
Before the LORD sat me down to study this word, I did not realize its deep meaning. Thank you Lord for revealing more of your truth.
This is the truth. Our alphabet: a, b, c, d, etc. are letters that form the words we speak. For example: the word apple is spelled “a p p l e”. Just letters that represent sounds. These letters represent the word “apple”. The hebrew alphabet is not the same as the english alphabet. Truly, I feel in using the word “alphabet” as a description of the representation of hebrew letters does not justify completely what they are.
In it’s conception it was a form of communication like that of many societies of that time, which used pictures. Each picture has a meaning. Over the course of time, these pictures evolved into letters. The letters we see and use today, continue to hold the meaning of the original pictures they represent.
The following page shows a chart of the hebrew alphabet. As you can see it changes its presentation over the course of time, but the root and original meaning of each letter remains the same in that it continues to represent the original picture.
So when looking at the word shalom, yes it means in western mindset “peace”. In hebrew it is translated as wholeness or completion, a state of being complete (“Ancient Hebrew Dictionary”, by: Jeff A. Benner, page 13). This is what I believe I was experiencing on the beach that day.
When drawn, each hebrew letter of the word shalom means:
Shin = destroy
Lamed= authority
Vav = attached
Mem = chaos
Shalom = destroy the authority attached to chaos.
Remember the story of Jesus calming the sea? Mark chapter 4. (I love this chapter. There is so much depth given by the Lord if we pay close attention to what He is teaching.) It begins with: once again He was beside the sea….. Jesus spoke many parables that day, and when He had finished teaching he said to the His disciples, let’s cross over to the other side. Here is the story:
Jesus Stills the Storm
(Matthew 8:23-27; Luke 8:22-25)
And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Mark 4: 35-41 King James Version
Berean Standard Bible Version: (In this translation Peace is translated further…)
Mark 4:39 Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. (They witnessed the aftermath of Him destroying the authority attached to chaos, which is shalom.), and those who were with him were awed by what they saw.
Thus the absence of chaos is shalom.
Again I say to you, if you recall when Jesus began his ministry, it is noted that He spoke as one with authority. Why is this you say? Is He not the Word? Does He not have complete understanding and authority of the word?
Be blessed and filled with His Peace.
Shalom.
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