Perfect Peace for the Unwavering Mind

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

American Catholic writer, Thomas Merton once said, " We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God " How true and fitting in these the last days, where wars and rumors of wars abound. Where one side is pitted against the other side even within the same country. With the economy in shambles, healthcare a disaster, corruption at every turn, new plagues reported daily, and wars in multiple countries it is not too hard to understand why peace may seem as far away as those simpler times we yearn to return to. Yet as Merton outlined, there is a simple and linear reason why we do not experience peace. If we are in constant turmoil inside of ourselves, we will never find peace with others and if we are in turmoil with God, we cannot find that peace we need within ourselves.

The Prophet Isaiah recognizes this as well in the key verse above. Such a short and simple verse, but many truths are contained within. The first truth we must grasp today is that perfect peace is attainable! This is not some pie in the sky fairy tale. It is not some far off wish that will never come true. God is not a man that He would lie (Numbers 23:19). Note the words here from Isaiah. He does not say "you might" or you will consider". He says you will keep in perfect peace. Let us not lose sight of the fact that the peace we are discussing here is perfect. The peace the world offers is far from perfect. Throughout history peace treaties have been made only to be broken. Peace in the world is tenuous at best. It is unreliable. It does not stand the test of time. It does not hold up against the depravity of man. Yet how does God describe the peace He brings?

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 4-7

The peace of God Almighty transcends all understanding! We cannot even fathom it! Whatever knowledge man has acquired over the thousands of years we have existed, the peace that God provides is beyond that knowledge and understanding. Note from these Philippians verses three important facts that relate to this peace. First, the Lord is near. Hallelujah! God is not some far away God standing over us with lightening bolts in His hands waiting for us to mess up. He is not some distant entity that we have to search for. The Lord is near. David describes God as being at his right hand. The New Testament teaches us that the Hope of Glory is Christ within us (Colossians 1:27). That is how close God is. That is how close His peace is to us. Secondly, the Philippians verses teach us that the source of unrest is anxiety or worry and by turning these concerns over to God, we can enter into His peace. This is always difficult for us as human beings. The world teaches self sufficiency and solving your own problems. It teaches self-help when what we really need is God-help. The last fact from the Philippians verses is that unrest attacks our hearts and minds. We know this because it says that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. The truth is that our hearts and minds do need constant protection. We are bombarded by the messages of the world. But God says to renew your mind:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

The key verse above also addresses the mind. Isaiah says that God will keep in perfect peace those whose mind is steadfast. The dictionary defines steadfast as:

Unwavering; firm in purpose, resolution, faith, attachment

We either believe what we believe or we do not. We cannot claim faith only in the good times. We cannot praise God only on the mountaintop. There is no absolute truth in the world but there sure is in the Word of God. If you really think about the relationship to peace, this point starts to crystallize. If you waver in what you believe; how can you have peace? If you are not firm in purpose and resolved in what you believe, how can you be at peace? James speaks to this more directly:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. James 1: 5-8

Double-minded. Unstable. Blown and tossed by the wind. The world will throw many such waves at you. It will throw many shifting winds your way to try and shake your faith and get you to doubt. Once you doubt, there goes your perfect peace. The Gospel of Matthew tells a story of when Jesus walked on water and Peter asks Jesus to bid him to come to Him on the water as well. Jesus does and Peter begins to walk on the water. Perfectly within the will of God and perfectly within His peace, Peter is able to do the impossible. But just as quickly, we can lose that peace if we take our eyes off of Jesus and onto our circumstances:

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" - Matthew 14: 29-30

Remember, being afraid, worry and anxiety are what keeps the perfect peace of God from manifesting in our lives. Ultimately, it is a matter of faith. Initially, Peter had the right approach and had faith that because God said to do it, he could do it. Then, when he saw the wind he began to have more faith in his circumstances then in his Savior. True faith understands that our Savior is always above our circumstances. Nothing catches God by surprise. He is in the fine details of our lives. Peter had faith in Jesus, then put his faith in the storm and began to sink. So too can we when the storms of life come against us. We can place more faith in our surrounding circumstances then in what we believe in and know to be true. We too can then begin to doubt. Look at what Jesus says to Peter as He is rescuing him:

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Matthew 14: 31

Why do we doubt? Why do we lose faith when we see the storms of our situations surrounding us? How can we keep our mind steadfast on what we know to be true even in the height of the storm? Isaiah says that we keep our mind steadfast through trusting in the Lord. Sounds simple enough but so difficult to put into practice when our surrounding circumstances seem so daunting. We have seen the bad example, where Peter placed his faith in what he saw rather than what he knew. Now let us look at a good example in the Apostle Paul. The Book of Acts tells a story about when Paul is being taken to Rome to stand trial. During the sail, a storm with hurricane force winds begins to assail the boat. Unable to direct the boat, they allowed it to be taken as the sea saw fit. For days the storm raged. The men began to despair, seeing their circumstances as overwhelming. But Paul knew in whom he believed:

After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Acts 27:21-25

Our storms must also seem like they have hurricane force winds behind them. We too can get to the point where we feel we can no longer steer the ship of our lives. We can give in to the current of the world, and let it take us where it will. It is easy to despair. But we must have the faith that Paul had. God has spoken into our lives as well beloved. He has said that He has plans for our lives to prosper us, not to harm us (Jeremiah 29:11). He has said that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6). But we must trust in the Lord. We must pass the test of the storms of our lives and still hold fast to the faith that has saved us.

Abraham was tested when God told him to go to Mount Moriah and sacrifice his Isaac; the son of promise. Unquestioning, Abraham loaded the provisions for the trip and set out to do the will of the Lord in faith. Even when Isaac asked where the sacrifice was, Abraham's response was one of faith:

Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. Genesis 22:8

Sure enough, as Abraham marched up one side of the mountain, prepared to sacrifice Isaac in faith, God was sending up a ram on the other side to take his place. God always has your deliverance marching up the other side of your problems. But He wants to see your faith first. He wants to see you continue to march up the mountain and not turn away in fear or worry. He does not ask for your opinion, only your faith. Abraham walked up the mountain with his son Isaac as a sacrifice because he was in perfect peace that God would provide an answer for his problem. That God would be his shelter in the storm. The circumstances did not matter only his faith in God did. Abraham could not see the other side of the mountain. He could not see the deliverance God was already preparing. Faith never has to see it just has to trust.

We also cannot see the other side of the mountain we are walking up. We cannot see the refuge in the storm God is preparing. We can only see our circumstances and know that we know that God will make the way. The good news is that there is a perfect peace in this world. The great news is that it is accessible to all of us as believers in Jesus Christ. This peace transcends mere mortal understanding. It covers everything. We need to be unwavering and steadfast in what we believe not be thrown about by the wind. We need to trust that the God who saved us will also be faithful to deliver us. Perfect peace for the unwavering mind.

Reverend Anthony Wade August 27, 2009