Isaiah 26
|
Isaiah 26:3:
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” |
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” -John 14:27
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing through the experience of your faith that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.” - Romans 15:13 Anxiety is the consequence of perception. I’ve often told clients in counseling, “Your perception is your reality.”
|
Keep translates a Hebrew word meaning to “watch, guard, protect.” Perfect peace translates shalom, which refers to “completeness, soundness, prosperity, being whole.” The mind refers to “forming a purpose through thought.” Stayed means to “support, lean on.” Trusts means to “be full of confidence.”
A literal translation of this assurance would therefore be: “You keep and protect in completeness and wholeness the person who forms his thoughts and purposes by depending on you, because he places his full confidence in you.” Why should we trust God in this way? The text continues: “Trust in the Lᴏʀᴅ forever, for the Lᴏʀᴅ God is an everlasting rock” (v. 4). The prophet responded, “My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you” (v. 9a). For this reason: “For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness” (v. 9b). However, if we seek this peace from any source but God, he cannot bless such idolatry: “If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lᴏʀᴅ” (v. 10). -Dr Jim Denison |
David Wilkerson wrote: “Right now we are living in a time of chaos the world has never seen. And Satan is using fear to torment multitudes. In the very midst of this time our Lord is calling his people, saying: “How will you deal with this? Are you going to believe my promises in spite of everything else that takes place around you? Will you trust me in spite of your deepest fears?”
To do this, we have to fix our minds on the Lord. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isaiah 26:3). Our will has to be involved in this. No matter how unbelievably dark our situation becomes, something of faith has to rise up in us that says, “No, devil. No, world. I will trust in the One who has faithfully delivered me at all times.” That is when perfect peace comes. It is supplied by the Lord himself, who is pleased by our trust in him. Then, as chaos reigns all around, our lives will speak the powerful message of his joy. He has given us a song to sing to the world: “The Lord is faithful. He sees his people through!” Perfect peace comes from focusing on Gods thoughts of you. |
The peace of God that passes our understanding can and will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. His peace is sovereign, and our circumstances do not determine whether or not He loves us unconditionally.
Our concept of or attempts at righteousness — however veiled — are as filthy rags outside of the sacrifice of Christ and His blood.
Paul, after he had suffered unimaginable things, was able to say from his heart, “The things that have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.” Philippians 1:12-13. --Julia Marie Phillips
Our concept of or attempts at righteousness — however veiled — are as filthy rags outside of the sacrifice of Christ and His blood.
Paul, after he had suffered unimaginable things, was able to say from his heart, “The things that have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.” Philippians 1:12-13. --Julia Marie Phillips
Isaiah 26:8:
Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
