Perfect Peace – Isaiah 26:3

The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.

We lift our voices and sing, “Alleluia!  For the Lord God, the Almighty, reigns!”[1] 

We kneel before Him, bringing Him the deepest concerns of our hearts.  We proclaim His power and majesty, recognize His omnipotence, and understand that nothing is too difficult for Him.[2]  We believe in His faithfulness to us for our eyes have seen and our minds perceived His goodness countless times in the past.  We trust in His omniscient plan for us, which we know He has masterfully designed for our welfare and not for calamity,[3] and we delight ourselves in Him, expecting that as we do, He will in accordance with His promises, give us the desires of our hearts.[4]  We humble our contrite, seeking souls before Him in prayer, unloading our burdens on His shores, and unfurling our sails upon the clean, fresh, living waters of forgiveness, loving-kindness, acceptance, and security. 

Yet too often, we rise from our knees and walk away anxious or frustrated, with our needs strapped like anchors upon our minds.  We cast aside what the Holy Spirit has revealed to our spirits, choosing to remain docked to angst and dissatisfaction.  We fear the resolution God will bring about because we want things our own way, and we want them at the time we have dictated.  We forfeit the perfect peace our Lord offers, rejecting joy for anxiety as the result of our shallow faith.  We hesitate to pray, “If it be Your will,” for we want our prayers answered precisely as we have requested since we too often do not trust in our heavenly Father’s goodness and tender mercies.

To our everlasting benefit, the Lord’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways, indeed better and wiser.[5]  His ways are to prosper and protect us, for He, who created us, holds us in the palm of His hand.  He desires our good.  He watches over us, not allowing a hair from our heads to fall unnoticed. 

Trust in the Lord, our everlasting rock,[6] for He is intimately acquainted with all our ways, faithful, diligent in His care for us, His children.  Set your mind on Him, believing in His loving-kindness, allowing your heart to receive the fullness of His grace, and He will give you peace, a peace that surrounds and protects you, a peace that surpasses all understanding.[7]

I cannot buy it
But it is free
Its cleansing waters are restoring me
The peace of God washes over me

I could not find it
In the things of man
But I received it from God’s hand
The peace of God washes over me

I cannot lose it
If I lift my eyes
To the heavens where my King resides
The peace of God washes over me

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[1] Revelation 19:6

[2] Jeremiah 32:17

[3] Jeremiah 29:11

[4] Psalm 37:4

[5] Isaiah 55:8-9

[6] Isaiah 26:4

[7] Philippians 4:7