Peace can be hard to come by, which is exactly why it’s worth noticing when you have it. Maybe a storm has passed. Maybe nothing has changed on the outside, but something has settled on the inside. Or maybe you’re here because you’re looking for peace and haven’t found it yet.
The peace the Bible describes is more than quiet. The Hebrew word shalom means wholeness, everything in its right place. The verses below are for resting in that peace when you have it, and for finding your way back to it when you don’t.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
In Hebrew, perfect peace is simply “peace, peace,” the word shalom said twice for emphasis. It belongs to the person whose mind is stayed on thee, fixed on God and leaning on him. Peace isn’t only something that happens to you. It grows where your attention keeps returning.
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
David prayed this psalm in a time of distress, yet he ends it ready to sleep. Lying down to sleep is an act of trust, because you can’t stand guard while you’re asleep. He could rest because the LORD was keeping watch.
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
God gave these words to Aaron and his sons, the priests, to speak over the people of Israel. Two tiny silver scrolls from about 600 BC carry a version of this blessing, and they are the oldest known copies of any Bible text. Churches still close services with it today. The whole blessing builds to its last word: peace.
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46 describes the earth shaking, mountains falling into the sea and nations in uproar. Right in the middle of that chaos, God says be still. The stillness doesn’t come because the storm has stopped. It comes because God is God. Martin Luther’s hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God was inspired by this psalm.
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
These are among the last words Jesus spoke to his disciples before his arrest. He doesn’t promise them a life without trouble. In fact, he promises tribulation. But peace is possible anyway, in him, because he has overcome the world.
Father, thank you for your peace. Whether my life feels calm or stormy right now, help me keep my mind fixed on you. Teach me to be still and know that you are God. Let me lie down tonight in peace and sleep, trusting you to keep watch. And help me carry your peace into every room I walk into. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Find two quiet minutes today. Sit still, breathe slowly, and read Psalm 46:10 a few times, letting it get shorter each time: Be still, and know that I am God. Be still, and know. Be still. Then carry that stillness into the next thing you do.