“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (ESV)

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (NIV)

What comes to mind when you think of perfect peace? A pour over in the mountains? A good book next to a wood-burning fire? Laying out in the sun?

What we translate to “perfect peace” is the Hebrew phrase, shalom shalom. In Hebrew, instead of saying “very peaceful” you’d say “peace peace.” You’d double down on the word. Instead of saying “very good” you’d say it was “good good.”

While we may think of perfect peace as calm and quiet, a break from chaos and noise, the Hebrew people would think of perfect peace as wholeness. The BibleProject has a great study on this very word, where they point out that shalom is used to describe a stone wall with no gaps and no missing bricks. It’s everything put back the way it was meant to be.

It’s more than the absence of war. It’s unity. It is complete wholeness. It’s two parties that were once at odds with each other, so connected that it is impossible to see where one ends and the other begins.

Think of your worst relationship. A friendship that ended up messy. Your relationship with your mother or mother-in-law. Your coworker or boss. Right now maybe it’s your spouse or roommate. What wouldn’t you give to have perfect peace in that relationship?

Isaiah points out that regardless of what relationship is healthiest or most ill, our most important relationship is with the Creator of Heaven and Earth. In that relationship he tells us, there is hope for shalom shalom. Hope for peace with God.

Isaiah tells us how we can have shalom shalom. We must trust in the Lord. Trust in the Messiah. Trust in Jesus Christ, who took the judgement we deserved so that we could be made whole. He is the Prince of Shalom. The Prince of Peace. His reign in our lives and on Earth makes us whole. He completes us. Peace with him is to be made whole.

Trust in this: God saves sinners through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through him and him alone will you be kept in perfect peace today, tomorrow, and for all eternity.

Written by Rainer Erani

Watch the above mentioned BibleProject video here.