He Promises Peace When We Focus On Him

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV

  • What does it mean to “keep” something? Keep is such an awesome word, with many meanings. To keep could mean to guard, protect, or put a fence around; to be faithful to as in keeping a promise or even to watch over and defend. 
  • The Bible speaks of God as our “keeper”. Psalm 121:5-8 says, “The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” 
  • ‭Isn’t it comforting to think of the Lord as our keeper? ‭To know that He is always with us, protecting us, watching over us!
  • ‭‭This verse also says that God keeps us in “perfect peace” when our minds our “stayed” on Him. “Perfect peace”, who wouldn’t want that! But what does it mean to keep our minds “stayed” on Him? 
  • I don’t know about you, but my mind wanders a thousand times a day! Sometimes I don’t even know where the thoughts came from! I’m easily distracted and my imagination can get the better of me. I seem to struggle to stay focused. 
  • Colossians 3:2 reminds us, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
  • Paul, in Romans 12:2, calls us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. And in Philippians 4:8, Paul tells us what we are to think about! “…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”‭
  • But how can we hope to be renewed in our minds if we aren’t first abiding in His Word as Jesus teaches us in John 15:1-10? How can we come to “Trust in the Lord forever” if His Word; His promises, aren’t our anchor? 
  • Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure…” What do you cling to in times of trouble or difficulties? When the trials of life just keep piling up? When you just don’t think you can deal with one more issue? I believe the anchor this verse is referring to, is Jesus! He is the one we can count on to see us through any storm. I love this quote from Tony Evans, “Sometimes God lets you hit rock bottom so that you will discover that He is the rock at the bottom”. It makes me think of Psalm 34:19 which says, “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all”. When we look to the Lord, when we trust in His many promises, He will see us through whatever storm we may face. 
  • As He promises us in Isaiah 43:2,‭‭ “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” What a wonderful promise for us to hold onto during any of life’s “storms”! 
  • ‭‭ In Joshua 21:45, Joshua reminded the ancient Israelites “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” He reminds us as well!
  • So what does “perfect peace look like? Perhaps it is remembering His faithfulness. Remembering He is in control. Perhaps it is the absence of fear, worry, doubt. Regardless, let us remember that when we keep our focus on God, trusting in Him, He promises “perfect peace”, because our minds are “stayed” on Him!

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