“Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee: because He trusts in you.”
As I read this, I was thinking that Isaiah comes as close to New Testament themes as any of the Old Testament authors. Peace is a theme that runs throughout the whole Bible, but especially in the New Testament and in the ministry of Jesus. Isaiah writes here about “perfect peace.” Now, there is a real concept of peace. My title is “What in the world is Perfect peace?” I used “in the world” because we don’t usually think of perfect peace in this world. Yet we have a promise of it here. Let’s see what this verse can tell us about perfect peace. The first thing that we note is that only God is able to give us perfect peace. Notice that Isaiah writes:“Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind in stayed on thee.” In other words, the world does not offer perfect peace. I have read that Jesus came into the world to bring “peace on earth.” I don’t think Jesus ever promised that. In fact what Jesus did promise us is that there will be “wars and rumors of wars.” The Book of Revelation certainly doesn’t promise world peace. In my life time, there has never been a long period when our country was not in some conflict somewhere in the world. Jews and Arabs have been fighting since Ishmael and Isaac. It is just a fact that the world cannot offer perfect peace. The best that the world can do is to give us lulls between battles – in the world and in our personal lives. The Second thing that we note is that peace can come only by trust in God. Let’s refer again to Isaiah’s written statement that perfect peace comes to those “whose minds are stayed on Thee/God.” The only real relationship that we can have with God is one of trust– of faith. The author of Hebrews makes this plain in Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” In John 16:33 we read the words of Jesus on peace: “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In this world you will have tribulation (trouble): but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. ”What Jesus promises us from the world is trouble. (More on this later) What He promises us pertaining to Him is peace. Having a faith relationship with Jesus Christ is the gateway to perfect peace. The third thing that we note is that we can have this perfect peace in Jesus in spite of all of the troubles that we meet with in this life. Perfect peace, then, does not mean that we will never have conflict. In fact, we are promised that we will be in conflict with the world system at all times. In Ephesians 6:11-12, Paul wrote: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ”Perfect peace is perfect because it comes from God, who promises to be with us through all of the troubles of life. David sensed this in Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” That is perfect peace on earth. Real perfect peace where we will be free from all troubles is when we get to heaven and live in the presence of Jesus. . If you want perfect peace, let your mind be “stayed” on Christ, who is the author of our peace. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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