Reflect:
Isaiah 26:3
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
Perfect peace! Is there really a way to cultivate that kind of peace? Let me suggest 3 or 4 things.
First, you’ve got to recognize that God is the only source of true and lasting peace. You and I cannot produce and sustain that kind of peace on our own. It only comes from God…and from being in right standing with him.
Throughout the Bible, God is referred to as the God of peace. Peace is what identifies and defines God, even though he is never isolated from conflict. God is in the middle of a cosmic battle with Satan for control of the created order…and yet he is completely unruffled by it. God is peace! And the Apostle Paul gives us this wonderful promise in II Thessalonians 3:16:
“The Lord himself will give you peace always by all means.”
Peace originates in the character of God and comes from him. You can pursue peace apart from the work of the Holy Spirit until you are blue in the face. You can’t achieve it! The only sustainable peace in life comes from the God of peace through the Prince of Peace, who will produce through the Holy Spirit the fruit of peace in your life. So recognize the Source of true peace—God!
Second, don’t pursue peace; pursue the Source of peace. The peace of God will come as a natural result of the relationship we nurture with God. So our focus needs to be on the Source and not the by-product. Paul said in Ephesians 2:14 that Jesus himself is our peace, who has broken down every wall of hostility.
Pursuing peace always leaves us disappointed when turmoil still rules the day. But pursuing the Prince of Peace, according to Colossians 3:15, keeps the peace of Christ ruling in our hearts. Isaiah 26:3 says it so beautifully,
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is staid on thee…”
The word staid in the Hebrew meant to prop yourself up by or to put your full weight upon God for protection and security. When you are leaning on God, you don’t have to stay awake at night worrying about tomorrow; you can literally say to God, “There’s no sense in both of us staying awake tonight…since you’re going to be up all night anyway running the universe, why don’t you handle this while I sleep.” Pursue peace and you’ll never attain it; pursue God and you’ll get peace!
Third, develop a world-view that is dominated by an eternal perspective. In other words, discipline yourself to look at everything that has happened and everything you are facing through the lens of God’s sovereignty, power, love and his inexorable plan for the ages—which includes all the details of your life. God is control! Therefore, nothing can rob you of your peace. Jesus said in John 14:27,
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be trouble and do not be afraid.”
Living with heaven in view in your everyday life will create the necessary conditions needed for inner peace. It will force you to see everything from an eternal perspective. It will remind you that God is in control of everything and has a purpose in all things. It will allow you to see things that once destroyed peace as opportunities to trust that God’s plan is being worked out in your life. That is the best recipe for peace.
Finally, refuse to wrestle with the peace-destroying issues that are threatening to disrupt your world. Release them to God in gratitude-laced prayer. The best-known passage on this is Philippians 4:6-7—and it is perhaps the greatest peace-thereapy there is:
“Don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.”
When we practice that kind of praying, here is what we will get out of that deal: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
When things are causing turmoil in our lives, Paul says take them to God in prayer. But notice what kind of prayer: Prayer that is dominated by thanksgiving. Why is thanksgiving so important? It releases truth into your spirit: The truth that God is sovereign, that he is the source of provision and that he has a plan in the particular things we’re praying about. That is what thanksgiving does—that is why it produces peace. It reminds you that God is still running the universe—and he’s perfectly capable of taking care of you!
When you are in right relation with God, when you are fixing your thoughts on him and looking at all of life with heaven in view, when you are practicing gratitude, then you can live daily, hourly, minute-by-minute with this powerful and wonderful gift: The transcendent peace of God.
“Peace is the settled assurance that because of God’s care and God’s competence, this world is a perfectly safe place for me to be…although it doesn’t always look like it.” ~Dallas Willard
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