Isaiah 26:4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength
I will confess that I did not watch the vice-presidential debate in October. No, I had a pleasant evening and I went to bed a happy person. There are conflicts everywhere. There is war across the globe and battles in businesses, homes, and every institution. So, is peace just ignorance? Is it sticking one’s head in the sand? No, peace is a focus. Ultimately, peace is not a condition around us; it is a condition within us.
Isaiah 26:3-4 says, “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.” “Perfect peace” is literally “peace peace.” This is a wonderful God-given peace for those who keep their minds stayed or leaning on God. So, peace is a mind matter. It is not something around you; it is something within you.
We have all seen a celebrity at some celebration pontificate about world peace when he is on his fifth marriage. If we scaled to the world what he has in marriage, the world would be even worse off now than it is. Someone who doesn’t have peace in his own life should not be lecturing about world peace. Peace is a mind matter. It is not a global matter.
Famously, Philippians 4:8 says we should be thinking about things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, and virtuous. Then it says that if we do this, the peace of God will be with us. It talks about the peace of God and then the God of peace. They go together. So, peace is a mind matter or not a matter at all.
Peace is only as big as its source. Notice the Bible says, “Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” There is an equivalence between how long I can trust God and how long He will give peace. The very first verse of this chapter says, “In that day,” referring to the future. It says, “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah.” There is coming a day when this song will be sung. It was recorded for us thousands of years ago, but it is yet to happen. This passage incorporates the far past and the distant future. So, God’s peace is as broad as God Himself because He is the source of this peace.
God gives peace for problems. Verse 5 says, “For he [God] bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city.” This is a contrast. God’s people were oppressed and there is coming a day when there will be a reversal of fortunes. Verses 13-14 say, “O LORD our God, other lands beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead, they shall not live.” All the things that trouble and problem us have limited duration. The point is that no matter how long the problem may be in your life, peace is possible. This peace is not an absence of problems; it is the presence of a person. Peace is a mind matter. God will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is leaning on God.
There is peace for work. Verse 12 says, “LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.” So, God gives peace for us because He does His work in us and through us. Someone has said that peace is the possession of adequate resources. I’m not talking about the money you have available right now to do whatever it is you want. I’m talking about the peace and the power that God gives you to have the energy to do the work that needs to be done today. I have peace about my work when I have the power of God to do it. It is God’s world and God’s problems, but I am God’s person and can trust Him.
Whenever I look at Isaiah 26:3, I always think about the man who was my neighbor from 1976 until he went to heaven several years ago. This was one of his favorite verses. This verse would have sustained him in 1942 when he joined the Navy during World War II, in the early 2000s when his wife passed away, and even now it is available to him as he is in the presence of God.
Problems come and go, but God is forever. The peace that is available through Him is transcendent. Peace does not come from outside of you; it is a mind matter. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.” When peace is on us, then we will be kept in peace, and that is what God intends and wishes for us today.