Flourishing Grows in the Soil of Peace: What Abraham, Lot, and Today’s Generation Teach Us

“Peace is not passive; it is the power that makes a place safe for dreams.”

Jack Hayford’s timeless insight captures a spiritual reality our world desperately needs. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks expands it: “Where peace lives, human potential awakens.” In Scripture, peace (shalom) is never simply the absence of trouble—it is the governing atmosphere where human life, calling, and destiny flourish.

Paul echoes this truth in Colossians 3:15:

“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.”

Peace rules. Peace governs. Peace creates the soil where flourishing becomes possible.

A Story That Still Speaks: Abraham and Lot

Genesis 13 presents a defining moment for Abraham and Lot—one shaped not by wealth or opportunity but by environment, influence, and legacy. Their story begins with deep family loyalty. Lot followed Abraham when God called him into a new land, sharing in the blessings and challenges of the journey.

But as both households increased, conflict emerged. Abraham chose humility and peace over rivalry. He offered Lot the first choice of land—a breathtaking act of selflessness. Lot chose what his eyes admired: the fertile Jordan Valley. Yet beneath its beauty was hidden danger. He pitched his tent toward Sodom, a place spiritually collapsing under moral decay.

That single decision shaped Lot’s life. He was pulled into war, captivity, and eventually escaped destruction only because “God remembered Abraham” (Genesis 19:29). Abraham flourished because he chose peace. Lot survived—but with loss, scars, and a broken legacy.

Their story teaches a timeless truth:

Where you pitch your tent determines what grows in your life.

A Mirror to Our Generation

Today, many young people—and increasingly all of us—are unknowingly pitching our tents toward a different kind of Sodom: digital Sodom.

• Overstimulated but under-rooted

• Hyperconnected yet deeply alone

• Surrounded by choices but starved of peace

• Captivated by freedom but enslaved to anxiety

Like Lot, many discover too late that environments filled with noise, pressure, and moral confusion gradually erode clarity, identity, and destiny.

But Scripture offers an ancient path that still leads to flourishing: the path of peace.

Peace: The Spiritual Soil of Flourishing

In Scripture, shalom describes a spiritual ecosystem where identity stabilizes, purpose matures, and justice takes root. Cornelius Plantinga calls shalom the way things ought to be when God’s dream for creation is realized. Without it, anxiety, chaos, and exhaustion thrive.

But with it, lives blossom.

Scripture provides a comprehensive picture of what peace and flourishing look like:

1. Flourishing Comes From Walking in God’s Ways

Flourishing is not accidental—it is rooted in righteousness and proximity to God.

Psalm 92:12–14

“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree… They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.”

Psalm 1:1–3

“He shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water… whatever he does shall prosper.”

Flourishing comes when we delight in the Lord and stay rooted in His Word.

2. Peace as the Foundation of Flourishing

Peace is not a side-effect of the spiritual life—it is a divine blessing that stabilizes everything it touches.

Psalm 29:11

“The Lord will bless His people with peace.”

3. Flourishing as Covenant Blessing

When trust in God deepens, resilience and flourishing become supernatural realities.

Jeremiah 17:7–8

“…He will be like a tree planted by the waters… and will not cease from yielding fruit.”

4. Peace Produces Fruitfulness

Peace transforms barren places into fertile ones.

Psalm 37:11

“But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

Isaiah 55:12–13

“You shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace… instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree.”

Where peace leads, flourishing follows.

5. Flourishing Under God’s Favor

In Messianic prophecy, peace and flourishing rise together.

Psalm 72:7

“In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace…”

Proverbs 11:28

“The righteous will flourish like foliage.”

True flourishing is tied not to wealth but to stability and trust in God.

6. Peace Protects Flourishing

Peace functions like a shield around the soul.

Philippians 4:7

“The peace of God… will guard your hearts and minds.”

Peace puts boundaries around internal flourishing.

7. National Flourishing Through Peace

In Scripture, peace and prosperity are inseparable for Israel—and for any society.

Psalm 122:6–7

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem… Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.”

Isaiah 66:12

“I will extend peace to her like a river…”

Zechariah 8:12

“The seed shall be prosperous… I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.”

When peace is restored, agriculture, families, economies, worship, and communities flourish.

Why This Matters for IJM and the Work of Justice

These Scriptures reveal a spiritual law that governs all Christian work—and particularly the mission of IJM:

Peace is the incubator of flourishing.

Where violence reigns, life collapses.

Where peace is restored, dignity returns.

Where peace is planted, futures grow again.

Justice work is ultimately peace work—pulling people out of the soil of violence and replanting them in the soil of peace.

Leviticus 26 gives this promise:

“If you walk in My statutes… I will give peace in the land, and your threshing shall last till the vintage.”

Peace creates harvest.

Peace creates stability.

Peace creates flourishing.

Thus:

• We rescue because violence destroys the soil of human dignity.

• We restore because peace rebuilds the soil of human destiny.

• We advocate because societies cannot flourish without peace.

• Peace is not soft—it is strength, strategy, and the foundation of justice.

• Flourishing grows in the soil of peace.

Final Thoughts: Where Are You Pitching Your Tent?

Abraham chose peace.

Lot chose proximity to chaos.

One flourished; the other barely survived.

Today, God invites us to choose carefully:

• What influences shape us?

• Which environments nourish us—or drain us?

• What legacies are we building?

• Where are we pitching our tents?

Because whatever soil we choose becomes the destiny we grow.

May we choose the soil of peace.

May we cultivate atmospheres where lives can flourish.

May we become carriers of shalom in a world drowning in noise.

And may flourishing follow us—and every community we touch—wherever God’s peace reigns.