Peace at all costs

What would you pay for perfect peace?



If you could have perfect peace about your relationship, your money, the kids, your job, what would that look like. Nevermind that it seems impossible. What if it were? What would your life look like then?

We strive for peace (like a good vacation will fix our lives), but to no avail. Well at least I did. Work hard now and I will have peace later. Hustle now, retire then.

But what about NOW?

One thing that I am learning about as we got through this study about peace is this....peace is not for later, it is for right now, your current situation. You may be thinking "How is that even possible? There is so much chaos all around me!". It is true that lives will toss and turn us, but let me share with you the secret of peace. Here it is....
The Lord keeps those in perfect peace whose minds are stayed on Him because he trusts in Him. Isaiah 26:3
Let's look at this verse closely.

The Lord keeps - The first thing I notice in this verse is that I can breathe a sigh of relief because God is the keeper of my peace, not me. He brings it and He sustains it. It is not something that I can "muser up" on my own.

Perfect peace - What we think of as perfect may not be perfect at all. You may think that a little extra cash will bring you the peace you desire. Or maybe if your spouse was more romantic and less critical you would have peace then. No. This is a peace that come directly from the Prince of Peace. It can not be manufactured by human willpower.

Minds are stayed because we trust - Just because you think about God (mind stayed on Him) does not mean that peace is automatic. Read the entire verse in context. Sometimes the truth is that we just do not trust God with our issues. It's too big and too much. You need to know that it is our trust that leads to our continual meditation of the One who brings us peace.

So even if life is topsy-turvy or feels like a cyclone has hit, we have the power to maintain our peace by trusting in God. The mind is a very powerful thing. Learning to wield it and place it under the authority of God can change your life!

By realizing that we have the ability to stay calm in a storm, or bring our thoughts under subjection, we destroy the power of the enemy to steal our peace.

It doesn't make sense to have peace when everything else tells you that you should be at war, but I want to encourage you that it is attainable, possible and readily available. Don't trust me on this, trust God!



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