Singing of perfect Peace

Isaiah 26

This chapter of Isaiah is set in the midst of talking about the coming Kingdom of God. Someday, the Bible says that Jesus will reign over all of the earth, and His reign will be perfect and just. This song is one that sings about the strength and peace that He provides and how He is deserving of our eternal trust.

Verses 3-4 are where we are going to focus for today’s devotional, so let’s take a second and re-read them: 

“You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. 

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock”. 

The term perfect peace, translates to the Hebrew words shalom shalom. In Hebrew, repetition of a word shows its intensity and importance in a sentence or phrase. In these verses, perfect peace or shalom shalom means that it is not only peace but perfect peace. The peace of the Lord is not momentary or partial; it is complete and perfect. It will never be less than what we need, and God, the author of perfect peace, is always listening and always with us. When this was written, it was important enough that they repeated the words to show us that only in God can we experience shalom shalom, perfect peace. 

The verse says that when our mind is stayed on Him, He keeps us in perfect peace. Another translation for “stayed” is the word “fixed.” Is it hard for you to keep your mind fixed on Him? It is for me. I get distracted easily and forget where my perfect peace actually comes from. But keeping our minds fixed on God is so important because the life of a Christian is not just about doing things mindlessly. God wants our hearts, lives, and minds. What we think about God influences how we live out our daily lives, and the life of the Christian is one of turning our thoughts to Him more and more. This verse encourages us that we can trust in Him and keep our minds fixed on Him, even through the distractions of life. His love and His peace are an “everlasting rock” (v.4). 

The beautiful promise in this chapter is that God has perfect peace available to us, and it is not conditional or limited. The world tries to tell us that we can find peace in self-care, in manifesting the best outcome, or even in being a good enough person. But each of these things is temporary and will never provide complete and lasting peace. God’s perfect peace is available to us as we try to keep our minds fixed on Him, and there is so much grace for when we inevitably get distracted. He is eternal and good and completely deserving of our trust and worship. 

Today, where do you find your peace? Do you find it distracting yourself? It will not last. Do you find peace in momentary pleasures? They will not fulfill you. Today, try to fix your mind on the Lord and experience His perfect peace.