All kinds of difficulties constantly threaten our well-being. These may include health problems, difficulties at home, problems at work, and personal struggles we wrestle with. All of these things can serve to unsettle us.
Against all of these very real situations, God has a message of hope. “You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
It is easy to say, “Ya that’s ok but you haven’t run into my situation. My problem is greater than all of this.”
Let’s look at the background for these words: Spoken to God’s people when they were about to lose their home, their livelihood, security, and freedom. They were going into Babylonian captivity. Obviously, hard times were ahead. In the midst of it all, God says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.”
The promise: undisturbed peace
The condition: mind stayed on God
This tells us that the mind that has confidence in God will not be agitated by trials – persecution, poverty, sickness, bereavement, etc. To enforce this promise, God’s people were about to go to prison, and He delivered this message. By accepting God’s promise, each of us can experience peace in the midst of hard times.
What does God’s promise say?
- We can be God-centered in our consciousness
- We can center our attention upon God
- When we center our attention upon God, we can get out of the boat and walk on water
- When we take our attention off of God, we will sink
- We can center our attention upon God
- We can be constant
- Consistent
- We can be confident
- We can have perfect peace
God has given a promise – His promises do not fail. There is a condition. When we meet that condition, we reap the benefits that fall to us.
