Week 32
Isaiah 26:3; 2 Thessalonians 3:6 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You…Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.”
It is a universal human experience to face trouble in this life. The sinful, fallen world is certainly conducive to difficulty, hardship, and problems. The Bible says, “Man is born to trouble as sparks fly upward (Job 5:7).” Jesus promised, “In this world you will have trouble (John 16:33).” The human race soaked in sorrow, blood, and tragedy can say a united “AMEN” to this statement.
And yet, the Bible promises to God’s covenant people His peace and rest. The prophet Isaiah spoke of “perfect peace.” Paul describes the Lord as the “Lord of peace”, and Jesus will give to His people “peace at all times in every way.” This sounds rather fantastical, but it is true nonetheless. In Philippians 4:7 the Bible teaches us that God’s peace is beyond all comprehension. We cannot understand how the peace of God operates in human experience to such a degree that the troubled heart is healed and brought to a calm that is truly transcendent. This kind of peace is God’s gift to His people who look to Him in faith, trust, and dependence.
In Isaiah 26:3 we are told that our minds must be “stayed” on the Lord, trusting in Him. This surely means that our human focus, no matter what the context of life may be (or how difficult it may be), we must fix our mental gaze upon the Lord Jesus and the promises offered to us in the gospel. This fixed gaze of the heart (See Hebrews 12:2) is intentional, instructed in the ways of God in the Bible, and disciplined in nature, giving the soul the wherewithal to fight well against anxiety, worry, and fear. We fix our gaze on the resurrected, victorious, and providential Christ to watch over us, take care of us, and provide for us. This must be the meaning of Isaiah’s words, “because he trusts in You.”
The goal of the Christian life is to look to the Lord in all things, for all things, and concerning all things. For the Christian, there is no “God-free” zone in life. We seek to honor Him, serve Him, obey Him, and follow Him in view of the teaching of the Scripture. We seek to worship the Lord and bring Him glory in our lives. And when we face life’s conundrums, complexities, and hardships, we look to our Savior even more so, not less so. In the words of Colossians 3:2, we set our minds on things above. In the words of Matthew 6:33, we seek first the kingdom of God.
There is no experience or context in life where this truth is not relevant. Christian friend, wherever we may be today, let us seek to trust in our Lord, fixing our expectations and hopes in Him. It is only in this way that we are able to experience God’s perfect peace in all of life.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me this day in my present situation to seek You, honor You, trust You, and worship You in all things. Help me not to be defined by my circumstances; help me to be defined by my faith and trust in You. Amen.