The Path to Perfect Peace
In today’s world, peace is a highly desired, rarely acquired, mostly misunderstood, and wrongly pursued phenomenon. The way I understand peace, and what I know of modern and ancient history, it appears that this may have always been the case. We desire this phenomenon, really a state of mind, called peace, but we have a hard time attaining it, and what we do get is a cheap imitation of it. In my psychology practice, peace can be a word to describe what many of my patients are pursuing, even though they may not use that word to describe it. We want freedom from the painful emotions that disable us, the toxic relationships that torment us, and the past traumas and regrets that haunt us. What we want is peace.
The object is the same, but the pursuit of it varies by person. Some people seek peace in friendships and romantic relationships. They seek acceptance and validation through others and rest their hope in the stability of their relationships. Others seek peace through work, advancement, and material attainment. Wealth, status, and success are the aim of their life, and “just a little more” will provide the peace they are looking for. Others use substances, recreationally or abusively, to settle their minds and bodies from the noise that blocks out tranquility and peace of mind.
Consciously or subconsciously, all these methods are pursued to attain what could be described as peace, but they only produce a vague simulation of the real thing. We trade in true peace for a counterfeit. What is actually pursued and attained is a sham, the biggest scam of the ages, and after we’ve spent all we have, we’re left holding an empty bag.
Thankfully, true peace is attainable. But it is not attainable by the methods described above; it’s attained in a completely different way. The kind of peace I am speaking of can only be attained one way. And thankfully, there is a path to get there, a road map. We are created in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26), but have become badly distorted, both through the fallen world we live in, and the sin we pursue. Our bodies and minds, which are necessary in the acquiring and sustaining of peace, are created and sustained by God. Any hope of peace includes a transformation of self, a restoration from corruption to purity, both to the image and likeness of the God we are created in. Before we discuss the path any further, let’s define peace a bit more.
What is Peace?
Peace is defined by Oxford Languages as “freedom from disturbance; tranquility”. This is a good, simple definition. It’s a state of being that could be described as calm, restful, and content. It is the opposite of restlessness, agitation, irritability, and distress. Anxiety, depression, and anger would describe an absence of peace. You’ve probably heard the word shalom. Shalom, spelled salom in Hebrew, is the Hebrew word for peace, and means completeness, soundness, welfare, and peace.
For centuries, Jewish people have used this word as a friendly greeting to one another. They’ll often say it twice, “Shalom, Shalom”, emphasizing the perfection or completeness of it. The Bible uses shalom, or salom, in this way to describe what God gives us. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” This phrase, “perfect peace” is actually the word salom stated twice. So, it Hebrew, it would read, “You keep him in peace peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” The double use of the word emphasizes the completeness and perfection of the kind of peace God keeps us in when we trust in him.
How Can We Get There?
Being kept in perfect peace is something I sure would like. The idea of perfect peace, and being kept in perfect peace, sounds like something I would pay any price for. It actually sounds too good to be true, almost like we’ll have to wait for heaven to have it. But the Bible describes perfect peace as something that is attainable here and now, in this life. How do we get this perfect peace, and once we have it, how do we keep it?
Remember that Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” According to this verse, a person’s mind that is stayed on God will be kept in perfect peace, and a person who trusts in God will have their mind stayed on God. So, how do we trust in God? We will now attempt to answer that question.
Knowing God’s Name
Have you ever gone through a challenging situation, and in the middle of going through it, someone tells you to “trust God”? Most of us don’t like hearing this, even if it is true. The person may mean well, but it often comes off rude and insensitive. However, if we really did trust God more, we would have more peace. The more we trust God, the more peace we’ll have during a trial. The situation will not go away, and the pain may be just as horrible, but our mental and emotional state will be better when we trust in God.
Despite all this, I think what bothers me most about the statement made by well-meaning friends and family to “trust God” in the middle of a crisis, is that it’s not like I can just turn on the trust button. Like, you tell me to “trust God” and I’m just supposed to do it right then and there. While I truly may need to trust God more, you telling me that doesn’t automatically make it happen. There is a prerequisite that is often left out of the instruction to “trust God”.
The prerequisite to trusting God is knowing God’s name. Psalm 9:10 says, “And those who know your name put their trust in you…”. So, the path to perfect peace starts with knowing God’s name. Those who know God’s name put their trust in him, those who trust in God have their mind stayed on God, and those who’s mind is stayed on God are kept in perfect peace. So, what does it mean to know God’s name?
God’s Name
First, what is God’s name? God told us his name when he appeared to Moses in the burning bush in Exodus 3. When God tells Moses to go to Pharoah that Moses may bring God’s people out of Egypt, Moses naturally is overwhelmed by this idea and asks who he is that he should attempt to accomplish so great a task. When God then says that he will be with Moses, Moses switches gears and asks what he should tell the Israelites if they ask what God’s name is. To this question, God gives Moses three answers:
1. I AM WHO I AM (Exodus 3:14)
2. I AM (Exodus 3:14)
3. The LORD (Exodus 3:15)
“God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” (Exodus 3:13-14)
So, in answer to Moses’ question about what God’s name is, God says, “I AM WHO I AM”, “I AM”, and “The LORD”. The Hebrew word translated to English as I AM, is the word haya, which means to be or to exist. By the phrasing and structure of these two verses, it seems that God is likely giving Moses a description of his name first (verse 14), before he gives him his actual name in verse 15.
God’s actual, or proper name, which in English has been translated to “LORD”, sounds something like Yahweh, and appears in the Hebrew as four letters, YHWH. This word, which appears in the Bible over 6,000 times as “LORD”, is built on the phrase, haya (I AM), and so to understand the meaning of God’s name, we must think about what it means when God describes himself as I AM.
This brings us to our original point. When Psalm 9:10 says, “And those who know your name put their trust in you…”, the writer does not mean that a simple knowledge of what God’s name is leads to putting our trust in him. He means that we should understand God’s name. We should think, meditate, understand, accept, and be inspired by what God’s name means. Every time you read LORD in the Bible, every time we sing “Hallelujah”, which means, praise the LORD, and every time we say LORD in our prayers, what do we mean?
God makes a big deal out of names in the Old Testament. Names back then were not what they are like today. Names in the Old Testament carried an identity, or meaning. So, when God tells us his name, we should pay attention to what it means, because knowing (understanding, accepting, and being inspired by) God’s name helps us to trust in him.
Further, that God gives us his proper name should cause us to pause and consider why he did this. His name, YHWY, is his actual, personal name. Like my name is Michael, God’s name is YHWY. God giving us his actual, personal name shows that God wants a personal connection, or relationship, with us. He wants us to know him by name. He could have just said, “I am God, deal with it.” But instead, he wants us to know him personally and be in awe of him. So, let’s think this through a bit.
Five Truths About God’s Name
What does God’s name mean? The Hebrew word, YHWH, sounding something like Yahweh, carries with it the idea of being, or existing. God, the one who is, always was, always is, and always will be God. God is self-existing; he has no beginning, middle, or end, and no one created him. Before there was anything, there was God. Said another way, before anything existed, God is.
God is beyond all time, space, and matter. If all these go away, God still is. He never started, never stops, and never will stop being. This concept is so hard for our finite brains to comprehend, and so we must accept some of the mystery. Not every single question we have about God will be answered in this life. But this much we know, that God’s forever being is something that should cause us to put our trust in him and so be kept in perfect peace.
If God is the forever existing one, what does this mean for our understanding of God? In other words, if what I’ve said about God is true, what is also necessarily true of God?
If God’s being is forever, if he always was, is, and will be, then all things in creation are subject to him. There is nothing in his creation that is higher than him. There is no one and nothing that rules over him. All things, people, nations, angels, demons, and all authorities are subordinate to him and dependent on him for their existence.
If God’s being is forever, then he governs the world freely and needs no assistance from anyone. God was not made, he always was, and so he is entirely independent. He is in fact the only being in the universe that is entirely independent.
God is not developing, becoming, progressing, or improving. He is, always has been, and always will be perfect. His being, nature, and decisions are always perfect. When God decides, he does not look to any standard other than his own. He does not consult with anyone or anything except the counsel of his own will (Ephesians 1:11) because there is nothing higher than himself.
Because of God’s perfection, everything he does is right, just, and fair. There are no mistakes with God. Our willing submission to God is proper, rational, and in line with our best interest, while willful rebellion against God is improper, irrational, and counter to our best interest.
God is the most important person in the entire universe. Because he has no beginning, he also has no end. All things are created and sustained by him, and all things are dependent on him and subject to him. He is the ultimate reality and standard of truth, and therefore deserves our complete attention, affection, and awe. All things, great and small, have their being in God, and God is worthy of complete worship and praise.
Trusting God
Knowing God’s name, I mean really knowing it, helps us to trust in him. Trust is a belief in someone or something to be capable, reliable, and truthful. To say someone or something is trustworthy means that they are worthy of my belief that they possess these qualities. Trust leads to a feeling of safety and security. We feel safe and secure when we know that the one we are trusting is capable, reliable, and truthful.
YHWH is capable, reliable, and truthful, and so trusting him is rational, whereas not trusting him is irrational. And he doesn’t ask us to trust him blindly. God has shown us repeatedly in the Bible, and if you really think it through, in our own lives as well, that he is worthy of our trust. God always and forever is, and so meditating on what this means about God can produce trust in God.
Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” The word translated stayed from Hebrew means to lean upon or against something, or to be upheld or sustained by something. If we think about this in terms of our minds being stayed on God, we can picture a mind that is leaning on God and being held up by him. It’s a mind that is intentionally relying on God for support. Keeping our minds stayed on God means that we are purposely looking to God and fixing our minds on him, filtering all our thoughts through what we know about him. We can do this when we trust in him.
Perfect Peace
In summary, we have learned the following:
Knowing God’s name leads to trusting God.
Trusting God leads to a mind that is stayed on God.
A mind that is stayed on God leads to perfect peace.
As we meditate on what God’s name means, we are assured that God is worthy of our trust. We are assured that God is capable, reliable, and truthful. We are assured that God is forever, is completely independent and subject to no one, that all creatures great and small are subordinate to him, that he is perfect in his entire character and in all of his decisions, that he is always right, just, and fair, and that God is the most important person in all of the universe and completely worthy of our adoration, praise, and allegiance.
Let’s continue to remind ourselves of these realities, as we strive towards experiencing perfect peace in the name of our LORD and savior, The Great I AM.
