The Perfect Peace of God
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.”
- Isaiah 26:3-4 (ESV)
Ever since our expulsion from God’s Garden of Eden, humanity has always lacked perfect peace. We strive, we groan; we are hurt and we hurt others. As sinners, by nature and choice, we regularly fail God, ourselves and one another. We feel far from God, the earth yields thorns and thistles, and life disappoints us.
We do sometimes experience moments of calmness; work is temporarily finished, our day of rest is here, and maybe life’s demands settle down. But how fickle is that kind of peace? Because, truly, there is always more work to do, more people to help, more demands on our time, more things to get done and more chores to be finished.
We need real peace. One that can’t be stolen from us the next time we hear bad news. The kind that can’t be shaken when life gets hard. We need the perfect peace that comes only from God.
The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 5:1 that “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God.” That is to say that because we have trusted in what God has done for us in Christ, saving us by grace as a gift, we now have peace with God. God is now for us. We are no longer enemies, but we are His beloved children, and He is our gracious and heavenly Father. That is the foundation of true peace.
This peace, God’s all-encompassing shalom, where we can truly say “it is well with my soul” is a gift from God and not something that we can manufacture or create ourselves. The prophet Isaiah reminds us of that reality in the verses above, that it is God Himself who keeps us in perfect peace, as we fix our minds, thoughts and eyes on Him.
God is a good Father and He loves His children so much. One of the many gifts that God can and wants to give to His children, especially right now, is perfect peace. I pray that as you spend time seeking Jesus today, you would feel His presence and peace, powerfully comforting you, as you trust in and look to Him.
Heavenly and Gracious Father, we thank You for Your goodness and kindness displayed in the cross of Christ. We thank You that You have caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Thank You that we can have confident hope and trust in Your mighty name to save and deliver, to protect and to heal. We pray that You would cover us with Your peace right now. Let Your perfect peace reign in our minds and hearts. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
Fady Ghobrial
Ministry Fellow, Christian Union Gloria
