And Give You Peace

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."
(Numbers 6:24-27)

This is such a wonderfully familiar blessing.

It speaks to the Lord's desire to have compassion on His people, to look upon us with favor. God instructed Moses to teach this blessing to Aaron and his sons, the priests of the tabernacle, so that the people would understand Who to turn to in time of need.

I discovered something about the phrase, "and give you peace," that I think will enlighten your understanding as much as it did mine.

What does the word peace, shalom, really mean?

Shalom refers to completeness, wholeness, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, fullness, rest, harmony and the absence of agitation or discord. Wow! That says it all, doesn't it?

Who is our Prince of Peace? Yes. Jesus is His Name. He Himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Jesus brings us completeness, wholeness.

"...and give you peace." It is a gift. You need only to accept it.

Shalom.

Father, thank You for Your peace. And thank You for giving me a fuller understanding of exactly what that means. You have given me completeness, soundness of mind, tranquility of spirit. You have given me peace that passes all understanding. And now I realize that this blessing of peace - this gift - comes when I invoke Your Name - when I turn to You in the time of need. That is what You were revealing to the Israelites and that is what You are revealing to me. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for Your peace, Your favor and your blessing.