I don’t usually write about personal times of prayer but want to share an experience that encouraged me deeply, in the hope it will do the same for others.
Yesterday, when communing with the Lord, he showed me ‘a picture’ – not a full, 3D, surround-sound-enhanced affair, but a clear impression left on the heart, replete with accompanying meaning and divine emotion. I saw a sea of radiant, joyful faces – the full, beaming joy of people who are utterly switched on and personally fulfilled.
The Lord was speaking to me about what it means to be authentic and complete in Him as an individual. The Hebrew word ‘shalom’, often understood simply to mean ‘peace’, is a concept so rich it has to be significantly expanded upon in English. Strong’s concordance lists the meaning of shalom (reference H7965) like this: completeness, soundness, welfare, peace, safety, soundness in body, health, prosperity, quiet, tranquillity, contentment, friendship with others and with God.
Cornelius Plantinga expands on this beautifully in Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin:
‘The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.’
That final sentence sums it up for me: ‘Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.’
There’s a sense of wholeness and completion in the notion of shalom that beamed from the faces I saw when communing with the Lord. This fullness of heart could only come from the completion of a pilgrimage, in which we find our true shape/nature/essence in the company of Jesus.
The uniqueness of each soul
Uniqueness was a core part of what these beaming faces communicated to me – none of us are the same, and every journey is its own, to such a degree that none of us are truly comparable to each other. It was clear to me in that moment that all comparisons are fallacious, as each of us occupies the sole spot in a unique category.
To compare ourselves against each other is the height of foolishness, as we have never taken a single step in anyone else’s shoes. We cannot know how we would feel or act under the same pressures, nor can anyone know the same about their response to our circumstances, as the inner environment of each person is an unknown. Yes, there are many shared, relatable experiences we can bond over, but in the end, none of us really know how another person feels. Not fully. That is why we celebrate closeness, intimacy, and commitment in relationships – even though we will never be the other person, we can share our lives and love each other well.
If our journeys are unique, then so are our shalom destinies. Every soul is a beautiful, one-of-a kind masterpiece of the divine, and each of us carry innate worth as an expression of the divine artist. More than that, we are living embodiments of his nature, with minds and wills of our own, made in his image. He has literally given us everything he is. Psalm 139:14,
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
What I saw when praying was heartening – a sea of unique, fulfilled souls, resonating with personal joy.
God’s favourite track on his favourite album
This bit might be hard to communicate, but I’ll try. The Lord showed me I was ‘his favourite track on his favourite album’, but not in a way that diminishes the value of anyone else – I’ll explain.
The Lord’s message recalled the joy of youth, and the immense value I placed on music. I’d rush down the long driveway to my school and hurry to the music block, where I’d hide away in a listening booth with headphones on, yearning to hear a few tracks or even a few bars of my most-loved tunes before the day began.
I felt that God was showing me his deep cherishing of each of us, his delight in our uniqueness, his joyful involvement in our lives. I am his favourite track on his favourite album, and so are you.
The mortal mind can never grasp the immortal; the privileges of omniscience are beyond the limits of our knowledge. In the same way, I can only understand what it means to be in a lifelong commitment to one person, but the Lord is in a lifelong committed relationship with every one of us, each of whom is infinitely valuable to him. And so we can all be his favourite track on his favourite album, with all the valuing that human emotion can teach us about what that means, but without comparison to others.
God is capable of the deepest valuing of every soul without diminishing the worth of any of them. It is not so much that God’s love is spread among us, but given entirely to each of us. We are not in a relationship with one who has to measure and apportion their affection; we are in a relationship with the infinite.
When you or I, indeed when any and every one of us, turns our face towards God, he rushes to the sound booth and pulls on his headphones, yearning to listen to his favourite track on his favourite album.
I probably haven’t expressed this very well – it’s hard to put the imagery and accompanying emotion of communing with God into words, but I felt so encouraged by the deep value God places on each of us that I wanted to try.
May each of us move ever nearer to our unique, divinely inspired, shalom destiny!
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In