The Tribune

By CARLOS SPENCER

Very few topics have a greater impact on me than the perfect peace of God. Isaiah 26:3 (KJV) puts it into context: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

Peace is the state of serenity, quietness, calmness and profound trust from both our heart and mind, and this emanates from our close relationship with God. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV): “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

We might be facing financial stress, challenges of the flesh, inadequate resources to complete a project or vision, not to mention the antics of Satan to disturb our peace and bring battles and challenges into our daily lives. This is precisely when we should rely on the words of Isaiah 26:3 and remain steadfastly focused on God. This is the key. Psalm 91:1-2 (KJV) tells us: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”

There is absolutely nothing that remotely compares to the perfect peace of God, or even comes close. It is absolute and all-embracing and never changes. It is consummate.

Isaiah 26:3 requires us to be “stayed” on God, and not to focus on our problem. Some persons focus partially on God, and partially on themselves, so they fail to experience the perfect peace that others experience. We know that the spiritual warfare takes place mainly in our minds, so it is imperative that we do not succumb to the temptation of Satan (for example Adam and Eve). This is very ably written by Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV): “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

James 1:8 (KJV) warns us against persons who are not focused on God: “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” God wants us to be single-minded at all times, completely stayed on Him, and not our problem. By so doing, the awesome light of Jesus Christ will shine in our hearts. Believers who are not single-minded risk the challenges that face persons who are double-minded. They are fearful, hesitant, dubious, unstable, unreliable and uncertain in everything that they think, decide and do. Jesus says in Matthew 6:22 (KJV): “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, the whole body shall be full of light.”

The word of God requires that we be single-mined and stayed on God in all that we do, irrespective of our circumstances or the emotions that may exist within us. The key to remaining stayed on God is that our minds must be made new, or according to scripture, “renewed”. Our minds have to be constantly refreshed day after day. In Ephesians 4:23 (KJV), Paul wrote: “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”

Paul further makes the point in Romans 12:2 (KJV): “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” According to Isaiah 26:3, the second requirement for us to experience the perfect peace of God is that we must trust Him and have complete faith in Him.

Psalm 121:1-2 (KJV) boldly expresses: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.”

Psalm 16:8-9 (KJV) says it in this way: “I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.”

The extent to which we experience the perfect peace of God will depend in large measure on the amount of His word that lives in our hearts. God never changes, nor does his word. Our peace will remain constant or unchanging to the degree to which we focus on God and his unchanging word. It is just that simple!