FINDING PEACE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.

Isaiah 26:3

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we get set to close another year, the one thing many people will be looking for in 2015 is peace. Maybe they have been caught up in disagreement or quarrel, either at work or at home, hoping for relief and a return to times of harmony and solace. Maybe they have been in the midst of some form of long term affliction, tired of not being well and yearning for healing and restoration. Maybe the weight of the world has fallen on their shoulders because of something that has brought them stress or worry or fear. They hunger for any kind of relief that could take away their burdens and set them free. Or maybe they have been in the center of war or conflict, living in constant danger of being injured or killed from the constant fighting all around them. They pray for the day when the hostilities might be over and they might be able to live every day in tranquility again.

There is no certainly no shortage of the need for peace in our lives and in our world, that’s for sure. That’s why today’s scripture verse and associated verses are so important to all people because there will be some time in life for everyone when the need for peace will arise and when it does, we can always turn to the Lord God Almighty who provides it in abundance and in a way that no one else can. Look at today’s verse from Isaiah, chapter 26:

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.

This verse is in the midst of a song that is prophesied to be sung when Jesus returns and makes all things new to include the heavens and earth where those who placed their steadfast faith and trust in Jesus as Savior will inhabit the New Jerusalem. It will be at that point that perfect peace will come but until then, the people of this world will always be dealing with matters that will disrupt their sense of peace.

So what do we do in the interim? How do we cope with the things of this world where our sense of serenity always seems under attack?

God’s word again offers us the answer as we look at these verses from Philippians, Chapter 4:

Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, 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. Vv. 6-7  

Want peace in your world today, tomorrow, and every day until Jesus returns to bring perfect peace? Follow the guidance of these two simple verses, verses I refer to as God’s prescription for worry, stress, anxiety, and fear, the negative emotions that Satan uses to shackle the Lord’s people and keep them from fulfilling His purposes. Let me break it down to you in a way that will make total sense to you, in a way that you can easily process and apply to find a peace that no one else can bring.

First, let look at the first words:

Do not be anxious about anything.

Note here that God’s word isn’t giving us an option. It doesn’t say, “I would recommend you avoid being anxious about things.” It doesn’t say, “If you want to, don’t be anxious about anything.” No, it says, “Do not be anxious about anything”, period. It is a command from the word of God, plain and simple. We are not to be anxious or worried or afraid or stressed about anything. We are ordered by God.

So how can we possibly do this? How can we fulfill this command to never be anxious about anything?

We need to go on in the passage for the answer.  

In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Go back to the featured verse for today from Isaiah. The word of God tells us that perfect peace comes to those who maintain steadfast trust in God, a God who has assured, and then proven to, His people over and over and over again that He is with them, that He is for them, and that there is nothing beyond the work of His hands.

What more evidence do we need that would lead us to place our faith in Him without question?

And yet, we seem to want to either rely on ourselves or trust other people in the world more than the One who created it all and all of us, the One with a power that is unmatched, unrivaled, and incomparable to the greatest power this world might know.

Friends, the true key to peace is to place our fullest faith and reliance on God and God alone, to believe that God can and will do all things when we call on His precious and holy name. This is why God’s word tells us to take our anxieties and fears and worries and stresses, the things that burden us in life, and lay them down at His feet, essentially saying to Him, “Lord, this is too much for me to handle but I know it isn’t too hard for you.” We’re to do this through prayer and petition, turning to the Lord who loves and cares for us, and presenting our requests for deliverance and relief from the matters that are weighing us down. And through this all, we are to approach God with the deepest sense of thanksgiving, thanks that we have a heavenly Father who loves His children so very much and desires to bring them peace in the midst of hardship and difficulty.

When we do this, when we commit ourselves to stop carrying our burdens separate from the help of God, choosing to be obedient to His command to not be anxious about anything and turning to Him in trust through prayer, then and only then will we experience the end results that God’s word from Philippians talks about.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   

When we fully rely on God to handle the pressures of life that come upon us, we are set free from those pressures, liberated from our burdens in a way that brings us peace. And not just any peace but a peace that transcends all understanding. No one outside of another believer who exercises these basic steps from the scriptures can understand that kind of peace because no one in the world can find it there. It is a peace that only comes from the Lord God Almighty, the One who brings us all things in perfection. What a blessed assurance we have in this truth!

And just in case you might be concerned about maintaining this peace beyond understanding after you receive it, know and trust that Christ Jesus, the One who preserves us now and forever, stands ready to guard and protect our hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit. We know it because God’s word tells us so and because as Christians, we should always have Jesus in our hearts and minds. He is the reason for who we are, He is the reason for who we will be on that day when He returns to usher us into His perfect peace in the new heaven and new earth, the day when the righteous inhabit the New Jerusalem.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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