Isaiah 57:18-19 — “I have seen their ways, but I will heal them,” (says the Lord). “I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, (Shalom, Shalom) to those far and near,” says the Lord. “I will heal them.” Shalom is the Hebrew word for ‘peace’ (and much more), and is used often as a greeting and a farewell. Saying it twice doubles the blessing; and can also mean ‘perfect peace.’
Isaiah 9:6 — To us a child is born, to us a son is given . . . and his name shall be called . . . Prince of Peace.
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The human heart longs for a joy it cannot sustain, a rest it cannot find, a blessing it cannot grasp. It starves for happiness uninterrupted, contentment undisturbed, life untroubled and unending. We yearn for a deep, all-pervading peace; what the Hebrews called shalom.
We sometimes glimpse a shadow of peace in creation. We seem to see it in a forest of colored leaves in mid-autumn. We almost hear it in the gentle babble of a half-hidden brook, or the joyful sound of a child’s laughter. It is there, somewhere, out there in the stillness of a morning sunrise or the soft glow of moonlight. We cannot plan these moments. But every once in a while, something pure and wonderful flashes in our mind, and we can feel it, this perfect peace and well-being that we wish for. In the midst of our hurried, fragmented life, for a moment we feel a deep sense of well-being and joy. And within us stirs a longing for such peace to always be there.
But then it breaks… The afternoon arrives; the enchantment drifts away; the child screams; the commotion re-enters with a vengeance. You knew that calm serenity would not last, but for a moment your soul stopped to savor a distant something. Time slowed; the spirit exhaled. Was it all an illusion? Can souls ever enjoy such rest and keep it?
We were created to enjoy peace. What went wrong? We ourselves shattered the peace we long for. The faraway satisfaction you were made craving, the ungraspable gladness you can’t help but desire but can’t quite ever reach, the state of perfect and perpetual peace you don’t have — shalom — was broken by sin.
The stream, the child’s laughter, the moonlight, and the colored leaves whisper of an innocence we no longer possess. We catch a glimpse of a purity, a stillness, a guiltless beauty that as sinners cannot own or maintain. Creation lets slip a secret of a long-lost tranquility, but soon it closes the veil; she will not befriend those who betray her Creator. “‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 48:22).
But God promised a Son would be given whose name would be called Prince of Peace. “Glory to God in the highest,” the angels sang at Christ’s birth, “and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14).
What peace does He bring? Not the cheap, temporary, optimism of the self-help gurus, but the peace we desperately need: peace with God. God gives us a Son of peace after we had given him reason for war. Charles Wesley tells the tidings:
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.”
Angels did not sing that God would provide financial security, a problem-free life, a comfortable retirement, and eighty years of guarenteed good health. Rather, the angels sing of reconciliation between God and sinners in the coming and dying and rising of a Son. “Justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1) Jesus, who was born for us, lived a life to show us how life is best lived, died for the forgiveness of our sins, and rose from the dead so that we too may live forever. All who receive his given Son by faith receive unimaginable blessings: comfort for your fears; release from your guilt; and an eternal life to come for you, free from pain and death and sin.
Call upon him, and he will be your peace, your solid foundation, your comfort and joy, your desire and delight, your present and future. In his kingdom is perfect happiness, a country where sin and guilt and death are gone forever. Come to God through Jesus Christ, and “you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace” (Isaiah 55:12). He himself will lead you into a peaceful habitation, a secure dwelling, and a quiet resting place (Isaiah 32:18).
The human heart longs for a joy it cannot sustain, a rest it cannot find, a blessing it cannot grasp — and so, in Christ Jesus, shalom traveled to us to be found. We are starved for happiness uninterrupted, contentment undisturbed, life untroubled and unending — and behold, an eyewitness has reported, “the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us” (I John 1:12). We long for peace, for the Hebrew shalom. And God sent it forth in his Son, Jesus Christ, our Prince of Peace.
–Adapted from an article by Greg Morse posted December 15. 2025 at: http://www.desiringgod.org .
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You have made us for yourself, O Lord,
and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you. –Augustine
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(Two videos appear below. In order for the videos to display, click on the the ‘Read on Blog’ link in the upper right hand corner of your email.)
Video #1: In The Chosen television series about the life of Jesus, everyone is always saying to each other “Shalom, Shalom.” In the below brief scene, Peter parts from the Roman soldier Gaius with the blessing “Shalom, Shalom.” Gaius asks why he says it twice, and Peter explains.
Video #2: In the wonderful Christmas carol “Peace, Peace” Fred Bock blends the blessing of peace (Shalom) with a verse of Silent Night. The lyrics appear below the video.
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“Peace, Peace”
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Peace, peace, peace on earth
And good will to all
This is a time for joy
This is a time for love
Now let us all sing together of peace, peace, peace on earth
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
‘Round yon’ Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
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