In Isaiah 26:3, we read the comforting words, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” And that is an awesome promise to us.
However, many people read it and claim it by stating that as long as they keep their mind on Jesus, they will have peace, and they forget the importance of the last five words “…because he trust in you!” It is highly important to keep our thoughts and minds focused on God throughout the day, and we can find joy and comfort in doing so, but the truth comes down to those final five words, and do we really trust Him?
You see, I can talk about God all day, and yet never really trust Him. I can sing hymns, recite verses, and quote famous preachers, but if I have not learned to trust God with everything, there are going to be many times when I have no peace, and when I get discouraged and depressed about life. So, I feel the last five words are the critical words in this verse. Yes, many people talk about God, they know and sing the latest Christian songs, and they know many of the well-known verses in the Bible – yet they find no real peace or joy in life at times. The reason is – they have not learned to trust Him….that’s what brings the peace.
Knowing that God is in complete control, trusting Him with everything in our lives, and THEN focusing our attention on Him is what brings the perfect peace.
One of the things I hate in life is being late. Late to anything! And so, I typically arrive very early wherever I am going. And living in Atlanta, I had to think about what time of day it is and how bad the traffic will be. So, over the past few years as I’ve spoken in schools, I’ve arrived at a new school 30 or more minutes early simply because I wanted to make sure I would not be late, and I didn’t know what the traffic situation would be. Well, one time last year, the traffic was really bad, and I was going to a new school. It became obvious to me that I wouldn’t make it on time, and I began to feel anxious about that. Remember, I HATE being late. I did arrive 5 minutes late, but when I walked in the door, the FCA leader met me at the door and said, “Good thing you’re running a little late, we’ve had to push back our starting time this morning….” God knew all along that I wasn’t going to be “late”, and I learned another lesson in trusting Him. I was later than I thought I should be there, but God had it all under control.
Remember, we can trust Him with everything in our lives! Then, we’ll know peace, because we simply allow Him to control our lives. What then do we have to worry about?