Text- Isaiah 26:3 – “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee.”
Virtually everybody wants peace. There is hardly anyone who doesn’t want to live a happy life and have peace of mind. Some people would as much as give up all their wealth if they would be offered perfect peace.
While most people truly desire to have peace – in their personal lives, in their immediate society, and in the world at large – a lot of things contend with our peace in this world. There are countless peace talks/conferences that are probably going on as we speak; yet it seems like the world is heading towards anything but peace.
As a matter of fact, sometimes we end up working against the very same peace we greatly desire. It’s even funny that most people who engineer war say they are fighting for ‘lasting’ peace. We often hear them say there can’t be peace without justice, but they want to acquire justice by toppling peace.
In the next few days, I want to talk to you on this subject of peace. Perfect peace; complete peace; lasting peace – whichever one you choose to call it, rests on seven legs. We will take them one after the other in the course of this series.
1. BE AT PEACE WITH GOD
Isaiah, the prophet wrote “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21). As we see in our text, the same prophet affirmed that when a man’s mind is steadfast and trusts in the Lord, God will keep him in perfect peace.
So then, we see that peace with God is the foundation of long-lasting peace. There can be no true peace if you are not at peace with your maker. It is even written in Proverbs 16:7, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him”
Now see what the Bible says in Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Evidently, the only way a man can have peace with God is when Jesus Christ becomes his Lord. That is, when he allows Jesus to rule and reign in his heart, having accepted him as Lord.
Accepting Jesus comes with the package of justification from sin, and this brings relief from the haunting sense that naturally comes with sin. By taking away our sins and acquitting us of the guilt of sin; Jesus paved way for peace with God.
That you are at peace with God means that God is not your enemy. It means you are not “a sinner in the hands of an angry God” like a preacher once said. You are a son in the house of a loving Father… Rejoice! You have peace with God.
Jesus is the prince of peace, and without Him in your heart as Lord, you can’t experience perfect peace. If you have not made him your Lord, I want to invite you to do so today. That’s the first step to long-lasting peace.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank you because through you I can have peace with God. I repent of sin today and ask that you rule and reign forever in my heart. I surrender to you, be Lord in my life.
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