“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4
Pandemic, shelter-in-place, stock market crashes, businesses closed. Layoffs. These are not the words of peace. Every day the headlines scream out to us more bad news. Our minds are being bombarded with words of chaos, fear, uncertainty, dread.
But God’s Word is different. God’s Word is calling out a different message to those who trust in Him. His Word offers us perfect peace in the midst of trouble. Perfect peace. Don’t those words sound like springs of living water in the midst of a desert wasteland?
So how is it we can take hold of this perfect peace being offered to us? Read Isaiah 26:3-4 over a few times. First thing we should note is where does perfect peace come from? It comes from the God of peace. “You will keep him in perfect peace.” God is the source of peace and God is the one who keeps those who trust Him in that peace! He is the source and the keeper of the peace. Isn’t that a beautiful thing?
But what is our part in receiving and experiencing this peace that we long for? He goes on to explain: those who are kept in perfect peace are those who’s minds are fixed on the God of peace! The fight for peace is fought on the battlefield of the mind. And make no mistake, it is a fight. There is a battle being waged for our minds. Are you engaged in this battle? Where are our thoughts fixed? What are we allowing to fill our minds?
How do we fix our minds on God? We do this by dwelling in His Word. We train our minds to be deeply rooted in His Word, meditate on His Word, pray His Word. In so doing, we are dwelling richly in Christ, abiding in Him, fixing our eyes on Him, learning to know Him more fully, and growing in our trust in Him. Don’t miss what the prophet Isaiah says in this passage. We fix our minds on Him BECAUSE we trust in Him. And we trust in Him because He is worthy to be trusted. He is our Lord forever. He as our everlasting rock. He is the eternal unchanging God. When everything around us is giving way, only our God is secure and steady and an unchanging shelter. When every kingdom is shaking and crumbling around us, only He and His kingdom are unshakable. We can trust Him because He is trustworthy. We can find peace in Him because He is the source of peace.
As we go through this difficult season together as a community of Christ followers, let us fight for peace together. Let us encourage one another by dwelling richly in the Word of Christ together. Let us fill one another up with the Words that we are dwelling in, and let us pray for one another.
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
Grace & Peace,
Cherie
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