Shalom [שלום]

John 14:27
27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

"Peace."  Jesus bequeathed to us His peace, beloved.  More than anything He wants us to be in perfect peace; to rest in Him and be not afraid. 

The Hebrew word for peace is "Shalom."   It means much so more than that merely to be peaceful or to have peace of mind.  In Hebrew, it is not only a very rich word but there's a message in the letters themselves. 

This is how Strong's Concordance defines the word:  Shalom means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity {finances included} perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.

It is derived comes from the root verb "shalom" meaning to be complete, perfect and full. In modern Hebrew the obviously related word, "Shelem," means "to pay for," and "Shulam" which means "to be fully paid."

Our peace was FULLY paid for in the body of our Savior, Jesus, on the cross.  In fact, His death was an OVERPAYMENT!   What Jesus, in essence, said by His death is "Aní meSheləm:  "I Am your payment!"  HALLELUIA!

The Hebrew letters themselves tell a very interesting story of their own, something you would never get from any definition.  They also give us a glimpse of things from God's perspective. 

Remember the storm which threatened to capsize the boat in which He and His disciples were travwling?  Well, it wasn't just a little breezy:  it in was a MEGA STORM!  Jesus, as cool as can be, uttered one word:  SHALOM," after which there was, according to the Greek text, a "MEGA calm."

Hebrew reads from right to left and is a form of picture writing, like Chinese. These pictures are very consistent.  The "pictures" God puts together to form words lend to a deeper understanding of what Jesus means by "peace."

Shalom is spelled like this:
[שלום]

The letters from right to left are:
[ש] Shin=Shaddai (Almighty God)
[ל] Lamed=learn
[ו]  Vav=nail (Jesus was nailed to the cross)
[ם] Mem=Holy Spirit

The word pictures tell us is this story:
"The more you LEARN (lamed) about how much the Father, (shin) the Son and the Holy Spirit (mem) love and care for you, as evidenced by Jesus' sacrifice, (vav) the greater your measure of SHALOM."
AND...
The [ל]- Lamed," {the learner}, is surrounded by God on every side: El Shaddai, (shin) Jesus (vav) and the Holy Spirit (mem).

Every day may you be filled with His complete SHALOM!