Peace in the Midst

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal” —Isaiah 26:3, 4, NIV.

I’m the comma queen. I put commas everywhere—often where they aren’t necessary. They say that commas go in all those places where we naturally would take a breath. Since I’m short of breath a lot of the time I suppose that’s why my writing always has an excess of the little beasties!

The first comma in this verse for today is unfortunate, and since commas aren’t part of inspired Scripture but were added later I’m going to happily ignore this one. Mind you, the writer makes perfectly clear what it is that keeps the mind steadfast, what it is that provides for us that perfect peace—despite the unfortunate comma.

Peace, the result of a mind that isn’t tossed about as James would later say, is the absence of doubt about God’s ability to give wisdom when we ask for it (James 1:6). Peace comes with trust. In this case we have peace because we are confident that God will meet the need that we have dropped in His lap during those times of prayer.

Peace, and the trust that is its cause, is a period in the writing of prayer.

From my balcony

Peace, and the trust that holds it gently, is like a sunset. It signals an end to a struggle. As the day comes to an end, work ceases and we relax. When we leave our load of burdens at the Lord’s feet and trust Him to take care of every single problem, that faith steadies the mind and we can stop struggling and relax. We know with a certainly that what is impossible for us to change is in the hands of One to whom impossibilities don’t exist.

Three times Isaiah uses the word “Lord.” It becomes a mantra and a reminder that as we fill our minds with all that the lordship of Christ means in our lives that confidence, that faith, that steadiness, that peace, is strengthened as we walk through our day.

Repeat it often: “Jesus is Lord, Jesus is MY Lord, Jesus is Lord forever” and see for yourself what happens to your state of mind.