The Way of the Warrior: An Ancient Path to Inner Peace

by Erwin Raphael McManus

The path of peace comes only when we’re willing to walk into our own darkness and face our own shadows. We must face the very things that steal our peace from us whether they are born out of our fear or our doubts. The concept of peace is deeply rooted in the history that shaped the world and culture of Jesus’s day. The Hebrew word for “peace” is shalom. The word shalom is layered, complex, and elegant in its nuances. At its most superficial level, shalom is basically used as a form of greeting. In many ways it can be compared with the English word goodbye, which is simply a part of our common language but is rooted in the phrase “God be with you.” Shalom is a greeting with deep implications. It is most commonly translated and understood to mean “peace,” but the peace of shalom is rich in its textures. The word extends beyond meaning “peace” to meaning “harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, and tranquility.”10 To experience shalom is to find wholeness. When we find peace, we are made whole. The ultimate goal of peace is that we not only are made whole within ourselves but also become part of the whole within all of creation. The very concept of shalom assumes that the original intention of God is for all things to be interconnected—that when there is peace, there is relationship and harmony between all things. The clearest evidence that we lack peace is that we all sense a tearing between us, a separation that divides us from God, from our true selves, and...