Perfect Peace
October 5, 2020
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Isaiah 26:3 NLT
What does it mean for something to be perfect? The dictionary says it means “having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.” When we speak of our baby or a child and say the little one is “perfect,” we don’t mean there’s nothing that could be adjusted. We just mean this is a truly wonderful child. When we speak of a “perfect” day, we aren’t necessarily saying there’s not anything that could be taken up a notch; we are affirming that as days goes, this one was downright spectacular. But God doesn’t speak in approximates as we do. He is very specific. When He says “perfect,” He does mean as good as it possibly could be.
God says that He is committed to keep us in perfect peace. Through the prophet, God promises that we can have perfect peace and have it more than occasionally, we can be kept there, be kept in a place of perfect peace. In the original Hebrew, the term “perfect peace” is actually “shalom shalom.” In the Hebrew, repetition signifies intensity. It isn’t just peace—it is perfect peace; peace as good as it can possibly be. God is saying He will give us a double portion of peace, and then promises to keep us in that peace.
Unless we work with God, we can only have moments of peace that don’t last, and even in the season of peace we have, it is far from perfect. Other things trouble us.
Who are the people who enjoy this perfect peace? Isaiah tells us: “all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” When we keep our minds and thoughts fixed—settled on, established on—the Lord Himself, then we can be kept in this perfect peace.
What do you fix your mind on? What occupies center stage in your mind all the time? Our minds cannot occasionally come to the Lord for perfect peace; we must continually fix our thoughts on Him. If our mind is fixed on ourselves, or our problems, or the problem people in our lives, or on anything else, we can’t have this perfect peace. Almost always, you keep your mind fixed on whatever you trust. When we trust and love the Lord, our thoughts are fixed on Him and He keeps us in perfect peace.
- Pray: My Father, thank You for loving me so much that You want me to be free from worry and live in perfect peace. So many times I have overlooked Your promise and path to peace and have allowed my thoughts to go wrong places. I have chosen the drama of stress and worry over You, Lord. Please, help me keep my eyes on You alone, so I can be kept in Your perfect peace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.