Isaiah 26:3-4 (Peace)

Isaiah 24:3-4 (Peace)

A busy doctor overworked himself into a fatal illness. Even though his widow, who was deeply in love with the doctor, was a Christian her friends thought she might break down when grief set in. But her spirits continued strong. One day they asked: “What’s your secret?” She answered: “Come with me, I’ll show you.” She led her friends down a long hallway to the doctor’s waiting room. She snapped on the light. All stood in silence until someone pointed to a sign attached to the office doorknob. Then they understood the widow’s source of peace. The cleaning lady had forgotten to remove the little sign the doctor had placed on the waiting room door. It read: “Gone for a little while, I’ll be with you soon.”

Since someone said that our world is a puzzle with a peace missing, what is peace? It’s more than the absence of war, it’s the presence of Jesus Christ. It’s more than a symbol that people wear around their neck. It’s a Savior Whom we cherish within our heart. True peace is harmony with the Father. It’s living a life consistent with the value system of God.

A man of peace lived in an age of war. In applying God’s Word to our turbulent times, that man wrote in Isaiah 26:3 that God will keep us in perfect peace when our mind is fixed on Him. I like the fact that this term perfect can also be translated peace. That means verse 3 can read that God will keep us in ‘peace, peace’ when our minds are fixed on Him. Was there ever a time in your life when you needed a double dose of peace? That’s what God gives when our point of reference is Him. I like what the missionary Amy Carmichael said when she reflected on the peace she experienced from God. She wrote,

“If we open the shudders in the morning the light will pour in. We do not need to beseech it to pour in. It will pour in if we let it. If we open the sluice in flood time, the water will pour through. We do not plead with it to flow. It will flow if we let it. It is so with the peace of God. It will rule in our hearts if only we let it” (God’s Peace, Minute Meditations, 8).

What does the Bible say about peace? These are the words of Jesus in John 14″27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: it’s not as the world gives that I give unto you. So don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

When was the last time you went to the dentist? Which was worse, the actual appointment or the anticipation of walking down that long hallway into an antiseptic-smelling office surrounded by metal pokers and drills? To a group of troubled and perplexed disciples who had their hands on problems that only God could solve, the Triune Godhead – through Jesus – gave Christ’s followers a paraphrase of the old Greyhound ad, Leave the driving to Us.

When God brings peace, He adds security and contentment. Since the source of peace is God, the secret to peace is surrendering our thoughts to the God Who delivers hope, assurance, and peace. If you want peace, point the compass of the direction finder of your life to the only point of reference that can make His peace rule and reign in your life. That One is Jesus Christ. Now go and live a God-centered life.