Perfect Peace
Recently, a young bride shared with me her hopes that her wedding day would be perfect. Of course, I understood this. All brides want their special day to go perfectly–it’s only natural. At the same time, perfection is a mighty high standard that quite frankly is unrealistic and unattainable.
The truth is nothing in this world is perfect, nor are any of the people living in it–including us. In addition, none of our circumstances, marriages, families, friendships, churches, ministries, jobs, or anything else is perfect. But God is. He is altogether perfect. For reasons all His own, He has destined us to live in this imperfect world—which, if we’re honest, is rarely, if ever, easy. Yet, the good news is that despite the imperfection both in and around us, we can experience something that is truly perfect here and now. And by this I refer to God’s peace.
God’s Promise
“[The Lord] will keep in perfect peace all who trust in [Him], all whose thoughts are fixed on [Him!] Isaiah 26:3 NLT
These were the words the prophet Isaiah spoke during a dark time in Israel’s history when Assyria threatened to dominate their rights and freedoms. In response to their troubles, God sent Isaiah to encourage His people with a promise of peace—which of course was incredibly good news! At the same time, it’s critical to understand God’s promise wouldn’t remove His people from their problem. Instead, it would provide them with peace amid it. Yet, not just any peace, but rather perfect peace. The Hebrew word describing this kind of peace is "shalom shalom", meaning completeness, well-being, absolute peace.
Isn’t this the peace we all long for? A consistent, flawless, perfect peace regardless of circumstances? If this seems impossible, I assure you it’s not, as God would never promise anything He couldn’t make good on. Yet, God’s people did, and still do, have a responsibility in obtaining this promise, which Isaiah was clear in stating.
Our Part
It’s tempting to listen to Isaiah’s words and hear only peace. But the BIG problem with this is the promised peace was, and still is, dependent on where God’s people chose to center their thoughts. What was true for the Israelites then is true for us today. We can choose to focus all our mental energy on our problems. Or, far better, we can fix our thoughts entirely on God, resulting in perfect peace.
This sounds simple enough, at least in theory. Yet, I think we’d all agree applying this principle isn't always easy. Thankfully however, included in Scripture are practical, proven pathways equipping imperfect people like us to experience the supernatural perfect peace of God.
Three Pathways to Peace
God’s Word
God’s Word is a constant source of peace for those who habitually study and apply its truths.
In fact, Psalm 1:1 describes the blessed man as the one who continually fills his mind with God’s word by meditating on it day and night. And Psalm 119:165 says loving God’s word results in greatpeace and protects us from stumbling.
Prayer
Spending time with God in prayer always results in peace. While we can worry about everything, we can also pray about everything. The choice is ours. By choosing prayer over worry, we can experience a supernatural peace that exceeds our understanding and guards our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:6-7).
Worship
True worship connects us to peace as God, who is our peace (Ephesians 2:14), inhabits our praise (Psalm 22:3). This means when we worship God, who is The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), is with us. And what greater peace could we possibly experience than the peace that comes from knowing this?
So perhaps today consider the ways you too can center your thoughts on God and experience His perfect peace regardless of your challenges and trials. Remember, His peace won't remove your problems, but it will provide strength and calm to face them.
Pray
Father God, what a privilege it is to experience your perfect peace despite my current circumstances. I understand that receiving your peace is the result of where I choose to center my thoughts. Because of this, I commit to fill my mind with praiseworthy thoughts (Philippians 4:8) and yield my thoughts to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:6). You are faithful beyond measure, and I am overwhelmingly grateful to you. In Jesus’ Name I praise you, Amen.
Reflect
What steps do you take to “fix” your thoughts on God recognizing this leads to peace?
Encourage others with your response to this week’s question HERE or in the Comments section below.