This week’s Truth Keepers for Truth Seekers column is about connecting children and young people with the right source, the only true God.
Where do people, and especially kids, get their strength from these days to live in a world, where no matter where you go, they have to face the following- some negative circumstance, some calamity, or some unpleasantness on a daily or frequent basis, or maybe not so recurrent basis. To pretend everything is fine, rosy and just like you want it, might not be the true picture of your life. Young people have to face so many more things, those older than them did not have to face when growing up. For example: medical conditions that did not exist before, dysfunctional family environments and exposure to violence in schools and instability. Go to our neighbouring states; there you will face persecution and/ or war. Then there is bullying, not just in schools but on all levels. Higher levels probably a bit more subtle and sophisticated. Not to forget poverty because of funds misuse, huge unemployment, discrimination because of colour, state or tribe or church People seek support but lack that backing system. Modern substance abuse with new kinds of drugs coming out all the time. Then lastly, the impact of a digital lifestyle and social media impact.
Therefore, the biggest favour you can do to children and young people is connect them with the right source, the only true God so even if you are gone or not there, they can call out to the One who will see them through.
As long as we are on this earth, there will be struggles, temptations, disasters, heart breaking circumstances and more. Call it simply a “negative circumstance, environment or event”.
But being able to live in this modern world is not the absence of struggle or peace but God’s presence and HIS Shalom in the midst of a declining world in spite of a continuous outpouring of new developments and technology. New discoveries and inventions will not bring the Shalom we long for. Not on a lasting level.
Not everyone though wants or seeks His presence, and therefore, will be on their own because they seek other gods, solutions or just reject or neglect the One true God without doing some sincere research who could be the real One.
For your conscience sake: The One true God can stand human testing. If you are sincere in wanting the answer, He certainly will.
So which God? The One that can give the True Shalom many are seeking for throughout history and around the world since the beginning of this planet (according to true science only about 6000 years ago). But after the first two people made some serious mistakes, being unsatisfied with the ideal circumstances they were placed in, that Shalom was gone. It now can only be found if we long to connect back to the One who truly had it in the first place.
If you talk about the spiritual realm, that is the good side of it; there is total peace. If you have experienced the bad side of the spiritual realm, you know there will be a total lack of it.
FIRSTLY: Let’s review the soul part of our three part being mentioned in last week’s article (remember we are a triune being, spirit, soul and body). It is in the soul part where we will experience peace. The spirit part will have that peace because that is the part connected to the source of peace- God the eternal One.
Soul (psuche) — The "soul" is that part of man which is aware or conscious of himself — self-awareness. It is the centre of the ego or personality. The functions of the soul can be outlined as follows:
a. Memory: to recall (remember, reflect).
b. Curiosity: to inquire (explore).
c. Perception: to interpret (sense and understand).
d. Reason: to think (meditate, conceive) .
e. Imagination: to create (envision, dream).
f. Emotion: to feel (have passion, affection).
g. Volition: to will (decide).
SECONDLY: Let’s now define shalom.
“Shalom" is a Hebrew word primarily meaning peace, but it also encompasses wholeness, completeness, well-being, and restoration. It is used as both a greeting ("hello") and a farewell ("goodbye") in Jewish culture, conveying a wish for the recipient to be complete and lacking nothing. The concept of shalom extends beyond the mere absence of conflict to a state of harmony and flourishing in all aspects of life.
The 10 aspects of it are:
Peace: The most direct translation, but it implies more than just the absence of war or conflict.
Wholeness: It refers to a state of being complete, sound, and without anything missing or broken.
Well-being: It signifies prosperity, health, and a general sense of completeness in one's life.
Restoration: The verb form of shalom implies making something whole again, bringing healing and reconciliation to broken things.
Completeness: It describes something with many parts that are all in alignment and working together.
How it is Used
Greeting: When someone says "Shalom," they are blessing the other person with completeness and well-being.
Farewell: In saying "Shalom" as a goodbye, they are expressing a wish for the other person's continued peace and wholeness as they depart.
Beyond the Literal Meaning
Biblical Context: In the Old Testament, shalom often describes a state of complete and unbroken relationship with God and a fullness shared with others.
Holistic Concept: The biblical understanding includes spiritual, material, personal, interpersonal, and social dimensions of life, all encompassed by the idea of shalom.
Active Pursuit: It's not just a passive feeling but an active pursuit of wholeness and peace, both for oneself and for others.
What God Says About Himself and Him in Relationship with Us
Yahweh (God the Father) says, “You are my witnesses, my chosen servants.
I chose you in order that you would know me intimately,
believe me always, and fully understand that I am the only God.
There was no god before me,
and there will be no other god after me.
I, only I, am Yahweh, and there is no Saviour-God but me.
I am the only one who revealed this to you.
I saved you, foretold the future, and brought it to pass.
It was not some foreign god who did this!
You are my witnesses that I am God,” declares Yahweh.
“From the very beginning, I am the only God!
No one can be snatched from my hand.
When I choose to act, who can reverse it?”
(Isaiah 43: 10-13 TPT)
THEN THIRDLY TODAY: How Do We Get That Shalom?
Ask yourself: Have you tried to be connected to the One who can give that total peace?
Have you connected your children to the right One after you are firm in your own choosing? So no matter what, they will be in Shalom and with Shalom when they face their own struggles?
If you are connected, here is a beautiful psalm to get you started or keep you going.
Psalm 23 was written and often sung by dear David, a Shepherd boy who later became the King of Israel.
The Good Shepherd
David’s poetic praise to God
1-Yahweh is my best friend and my shepherd.
I always have more than enough.
2-He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love.
His tracks take me to an oasis of peace near the quiet brook of bliss.
3-That’s where he restores and revives my life.
He opens before me the right path
and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness
so that I can bring honour to his name.
4-Even when your path takes me through
the valley of deepest darkness,
fear will never conquer me, for you already have!
Your authority is my strength and my peace.
The comfort of your love takes away my fear.
I’ll never be lonely, for you are near.
5-You become my delicious feast
even when my enemies dare to fight.
You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit;
you give me all I can drink of you until my cup overflows.
6-So why would I fear the future?
Only goodness and tender love pursue me all the days of my life.
Then afterward, when my life is through,
I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you!
This same God thought about you including what He had planned for you in that beautiful book He wrote about you already before you were born.
You protest: Oh, so I have no choice?
Yes you do. There is probably another book, written by Satan. Way later but as a copy and revenge on what God wrote because the enemy wants you on his ugly side. Stay away from him!
Explore His beautiful Shalom this week, no matter what your circumstance is.
It is there.
For you.
Shalom
Akhrienuo