shalom.
a word i had always wondered about, but never quite understood.
ryan, a fellow student i met at northwest when i was there, always greeted me with the word shalom, but he was a bible student and i figured that it was just some hipster bible student phrase.
in the last few weeks, i've come to a greater understanding of the word shalom. originally, i just thought it meant peace, but when researching it, i came upon this definition:
"hebrew shalom ..... a word study in the new king james version for SHALOM says: completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord."
christ brought shalom to the earth, he restored the brokenness, conquered fear, and brought completeness and perfection to the earth through his death and resurrection.
last week, as the women in my home community were praying, we discovered that most of our stress was related to relationships and expectations. philippians 4:6-7 came to mind:
"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to god. and the peace of god, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in christ jesus."
this 'peace of god' is shalom. christ is also named the prince of peace in isaiah, and later on in philippians 4, it says, "and the god of peace will be with you." these names both carry the meaning of shalom.
as i am coming up on the wedding (basically 4 weeks away: yay & eek!), i've been increasing stressed out and exhausted from working and trying to get everything done.
(just have to say thank you to my wonderful parents who have been keeping me on track.) but through the business, i've learned that by leaning into christ's shalom, that everything will work out and that i don't need to worry myself over all the details.
wooooo!
shalom!
