Shores of Peace

Isaiah 26:3 – Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

1. Life is tough. There’s so much going on around us that we feel that we are drowning without a life vest or help. We try to come up for air to take a breath from the struggles of the day, only to be pulled back into the abyss of reality. We fill stuck, trapped, and without hope. We spend our days disappointed, impatient, and frustrated. We want peace and freedom, but they seem to slip through our hands just when we think it’s in our grasp. An endless cycle of chasing peace and freedom, only to be disappointed again and again. However, there is a way to experience a perfect peace.

2. There is a ‘perfect’ peace. Isaiah was writing about those who are kept in perfect peace. When thinking about a peace that is ‘perfect,’ we can think of something that is whole and complete. Because it is perfect, it is everything we ever want, need, or desire. There are no imperfections with this peace, it will not fail us, and it can be ours.

3. The means to obtain perfect peace is trust. In order to receive a perfect peace, we must first place our trust in God. Trusting in God requires a change in our perspective of the reality of our circumstances in light of who God is. Though our situation may or may not change, our trust in God allows us to see how He can influence our minds and hearts regardless of where we are or what we have to face.

Our trust in God doesn’t mean we’ll be delivered from every bad situation or trouble. It doesn’t even mean we’ll begin to receive good things from God because we say we trust Him. We trust Him because we understand He is God. He is a deliverer. He cares for us. He has a plan greater than our current surroundings. He has given us eternal life and He wants us to understand that what He has is far greater than anything the world can provide us.

4. Trusting God takes faith. So many of us spend our years wanting to enjoy the pleasures of the world and sin. We forget that these pleasures are only temporary, yet we often spend every mental, physical, financial, and emotional available to secure a bit of the American dream and any other pleasure possible. However, in doing so, we may place ourselves further away from God’s ideal as His enemy rather than images of His children (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17).

When reading Hebrews 11:1-40, we read about what faith is, how those who lived by faith focused on God, and the perfect peace they obtained in spite of their trials. Regardless of their trials and tribulations, they were hoping for the eternal city which was not made by human hands (Hebrews 11:13-16).

However, when we take our eyes from God (and place them in the world), our hope diminishes. We forget about an eternal life after this, the eternal city, and we begin to focus on our current location. We allow it (and the ways of the world) to consume us rather than keeping our faith and trust in God.

5. When we trust God, we will keep our mind stayed on Him. You’ve lived long enough to know how the ways of the world attempt to suffocate every godly thought and behavior out of your life. In order to keep the world out of your mind and heart, you have to keep yourself engulfed in God.

Being engulfed in God is more than a physical location. We can spend every waking moment in church, yet be no closer to God. We’re in the right place, but it doesn’t guarantee our minds will be stayed on God. Keeping your mind stayed on God is both intentional and focused. It is a deliberate act that chooses to focus on God regardless of the trials and tribulations surrounding your life. It is a conscious decision made to fill your life and heart with God…all day, everyday.

6. God will keep us in perfect peace. Being in perfect peace can be both a feeling and a state of mind. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to worship a gold image set up by the king of Babylon (Daniel 3:8-16). The king stated that whoever did not bow down and worship the image when the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery sound would be thrown into the burning fiery furnace.

When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were brought before the king to answer for their disobedience to his decree, they stated:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

The trust of these three was in God. They were facing certain death for their refusal to worship the gold image, yet they chose to place their trust in God. They understood God was able to deliver them, but even if He did not, they would not serve the king’s gods or worship the gold image. They were kept in perfect peace.

God will keep you and allow your testimony before Him to remain strong and sure. God is able to deliver you from whatever issue you have in your life right now. But if He doesn’t, be encouraged to keep your faith and trust in Him. He loves you and desires to keep you close to His heart for an eternity. This is what He wants for you, and it’s more than the world could give you.

He can keep you in perfect peace, but it is something you must want as you first trust Him and keep your mind stayed on Him.

^{Photo courtesy of CreationSwap/joecavazos}