Perfect Peace

Isaiah 26:3 [ESV]

You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.

How do I do that? How do I get my mind to stay on Him?

There is so much that distracts me. And the louder it all gets, the less peace I have.

And yet in the middle of the loudest cacophony, the craziest chaos, the wildest life-storm, if I will just let my heart rest in His direction, I am overwhelmed with a relief-bringing flood of peace. If I will just trust Him, I can rest no matter how awful things are or what threats I face.

Because He is able to give me quietness of heart and mind, relaxation of tight muscles, steadiness in my belly, and open hands instead of clenched fists. Grinding of teeth is a behavior of those in hell, not at rest in the presence of God.

I have felt Him come crashing down on me with His peace before. There have been times when I have thought, “I can’t do this! I am not strong/smart/good/competent enough to get through this!” And in that terror, I turn to God and give that fear to Him, and He comes wading into my heart like a warrior to liberate me from my fears. He crushes them – the dragons of my heart – like bugs.

He is my peace. My only hope of being the man I want to be is in Him.

If I will trust Him, and take the time to seek Him, He will give me peace.

His peace He will leave with me. He does not give as the world gives. I must not let my heart be troubled, neither should I let it be afraid.

Perfect peace. That’s surely worth the time it takes to pray