The New Testament has a scripture that says there is a peace that passes all understanding. We are to be anxious for nothing. We don’t have to let things get us down. This is a confirmation of a verse found in the Old Testament. God is the source of perfect peace. There is not a great deal of peace in the world today. Consider the times of your life in which you say “that was a perfect time of my life.” Really look back at it, and you’ll see it was not. Nothing is perfect, but Jesus. There is nothing wrong with him or what he gives us. This verse has great significance right now.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” Isaiah 26:3-4
Notice that LORD JEHOVAH is capitalized. This is the written name of God that the Hebrews dared not speak; they considered this name sacred and holy.
Peace can be enjoyed to a certain measure. We enjoy it as Americans. Apart from God, there is no perfect peace. This scripture shows us it is possible and real. It can be full, completely around a person—body and mind. In the soul, where no one can reach, there can be peace. Only God can reach the place no one else understands, where sores, burdens, fogs and mists live. The things you cannot fix are in there.
Here are two phrases needed right now. It’s critical we receive them. The problem we have is the problem of being human, frail, and lost in sin. Even as a saved person, we face the devil and burdens of life. Things are far from perfect. God provided a perfect Savior for imperfect people. He will “keep him in perfect peace.” Trusting God, the unchanging and Almighty One, is what has to be done. There are 1,000 different sources of trouble just because of who we are. If we had the answer it would be fine, but I’ve never known anyone, no matter how composed he or she is, without burdens and confrontations with sin. It’s foolish to think we have it all together. There is a vicious cycle of events that keep happening and happening. The devil doesn’t give up, but guess what. GOD DOESN’T GIVE UP EITHER! For everything that pulls you down—God can lift you up. For the darkness you have—God is light. What tears you apart—God can put together.
There is a peace—a perfect peace. It’s not crazy. Imagine it. Without the help of the Lord we can’t keep anything together. Look at the verse. It is God that keeps us in perfect peace. It doesn’t come by sheer willpower on our part. No matter how much willpower we have, there is always something that breaks it. We have none.
King Hezekiah thought he had it all together, but in a moment he became a crying child who couldn’t run and couldn’t hide from the message he received. Isaiah told him he was going to die. Even wearing a crown on his head couldn’t prevent it. He turned his face to the wall and cried out to the Lord. As Isaiah was leaving the Lord stopped him and told him to go tell Hezekiah he was giving him 15 more years.
When we put our all into God’s decisiveness, we have the perfect peace. This means trusting in the peace of God not our willpower. We use the term loosely. The Hebrew reader fully understood it. Perfect peace means “peace peace.” God will keep the person who trusts in him in peace peace. It’s a globe, a circle that has no ending. That’s the way God is. It’s like living in a house with double walls. When we first got married we lived in a nice looking, nicely furnished, cheaper-brand mobile home, but when the frost came, we like to have frozen to death. The walls were not thick. When we moved to a house, we almost couldn’t believe it. We were warm. We didn’t hear our neighbors talk. We act like God is that way. We’re within a wall within a wall. Perfect peace is peace peace. How much safer can we be?
Stayed has two meanings. (1) To remain at a certain point. It stops. Moses prayed and the plague stayed-stopped right there. It’s not trust in the Lord “when” or trust in the Lord “if.” Trust in the Lord. Period. (2) To proceed no further. We can’t hand the Lord anything. In order for this to work, we must turn ourselves over. Give God the double wall of our own self. We give God our life with the troubles and worries. We give ourselves body, soul and spirit. When we trust on him, they can be separated from us like a house with double walls.
In the last part of verse 4 Isaiah said “for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” It never goes away. It has a lifetime warranty. Sometimes we can’t even get a one-year warranty on things we buy, and a lifetime warranty only means a replacement warranty. It still tears up. God is everlasting.
No wonder David said “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”
Just as you are, come. Bring yourself to him and all that comes with it.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 