Busy, busy, busy. Everyone is busy. Deadlines and pressure at work… a mile-long to-do list at home… I need to start exercising… I need to spend more time reading my Bible… I need to find time with the kids. UGHH!!! I just have too much on my plate!
Sound familiar? These days I don’t know of single person who isn’t struggling to keep up with everything. Everyone has more than they can handle and it doesn’t seem like there’s an end in sight. Is there???
Somehow in the midst of all the chaos around us, we find the Word of God giving us a beautiful promise in Isaiah 26:3:
“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Peace? Where is that peace? How can I get it? And how can I make sure I keep it?
The Bible is clear that God has promised to give us His peace. But so many of us struggle to have peace. So clearly there's a disconnect here. There's something wrong with our view/expectation of "peace" and how to find it.
We usually associate peace with a lack of problems. We think peace = “no problems”, so therefore we mistakenly focus all our effort on explaining and solving our problems. But something’s not right there.
God never promised a problem-free life. In fact, He promised the exact opposite. He promised that there will be trials and tribulations. He promised that we, His followers, would suffer persecution and wrongdoing. He never said “I promise to take away your problems and give you peace.”
So what did He promise? He promised to give us peace in the midst of our problems.
He promised that if we stop focusing on our problems and instead turn our minds towards Him, that He will give us peace – a supernatural peace that surpasses all understanding and cannot be explained or understood. I don’t know how, but He does. He really does.
“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3
If you want that peace, stop focusing on your problem and start turning your thoughts towards God’s Presence with you in the midst of your problem. Stop trying to change the circumstance and start trying to find Jesus in the midst of your circumstance. I promise you that He’s there. He’s there and He’s ready to fill your heart with your peace. He’s there and He’s ready to stand by through whatever hardship you are going through. He is there to give you peace.
A wise man once meditated on God’s peace and made the following analogy: stop trying to stop the rain from falling; instead start looking for the guy holding the umbrella and stand next to him.
Wise words huh? Which are you doing?