“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” — Isaiah 26:3
Peace. We're all longing for it. We hope we’ll find it in the next vacation, the next raise, a clean bill of health, the restoration of a relationship—putting our hope in our circumstances instead of our Savior. I know this all too well. The siren song of ease and comfort rings loudly in my ears, and even though I know it can never deliver what it promises, I often find myself entranced by it nonetheless.
Can you relate? As you’ve been meditating on our verse this month, have you realized, like me, that you’ve been searching for peace in God’s good gifts rather than in God himself? Maybe you (like me) are in need of a recalibration of what peace really is and where it can be found.
If God is who he says he is—creator, sustainer, savior, protector, promise-keeper, ruler, good, gracious, just, righteous—then he is worthy of our trust. And when we keep our minds fixed on who he is and what he’s done, we are able to experience the peace that comes from him alone, in good times and in hard times. So, let’s look together to see the themes of promised peace, present peace, and future peace—all found in God himself—through the storyline of Scripture, anchoring our anxious minds in truth.
It’s Been Promised
When God created the world, all was at peace: there was peace between God and humans, peace between humans, and peace throughout all of creation. But after the fall, not only did humans and God experience separation, but the gift of peace was broken between humans, and between and the rest of creation as well. Because Adam and Eve chose to go their own way instead of God’s, everything changed. They went from walking with God to hiding from God. They went from unity with one another to blame shifting. Marriage and childbirth would become difficult. Growing food would become difficult. But it wouldn’t always be that way.
God knows that the human heart is longing for peace. In Genesis 3:15, God promised that the serpent wouldn’t have the final victory. He promised the Israelites rest and peace as they entered the Promised Land—and “not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” (Deuteronomy 12:10, Joshua 21:43–45). The psalmists declared that the Lord is the one who can give peace—and that he does give peace to his people (Psalm 4:8, 29:11). In Isaiah 9:6–7, God promised there was a child coming who would be the Prince of Peace, and that he would bring a reign of peace without end.
Our God is a God of peace (see Ephesians 2:14, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, Hebrews 13:20–21). It’s not just something that he offers, but who he is. And he has made a way for his people to be at peace again—most foundationally with him, but also with each other and the world he’s created. Who God is and what he’s done—his provision, patience, forgiveness, compassion, faithfulness—is precisely why we can have peace, precisely what our minds should be steadfast on, precisely why we can trust him. Like our verse this month says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3). Sometimes we forget. But forgetting the character of God is running away from peace instead of receiving the gift that’s on offer.
Last month’s Dwell Differently memory verse was Psalm 103:12: “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103 offers a beautiful record of truth about God: he is a God who forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies, works righteousness and justice, made known his ways and deeds, is compassionate, is gracious, is slow to anger, is abounding in love, will not always accuse, will not harbor his anger forever, does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities, has great love for those who fear him, has removed our transgressions from us, has compassion on those who fear him, knows how we are formed, remembers that we are dust, is present with love and righteousness for generations, established his throne in heaven, rules over all. What a treasure trove in just this one Psalm for keeping our minds steadfast on our trustworthy God.
It’s Here
The angels declared that God’s peace had come to earth the night they announced Jesus’s birth to the shepherds (Luke 2:14). Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus offers all who would repent and believe peace with God (Romans 5:1)—the peace our souls are really looking for. If you’ve trusted in Jesus for salvation, you are right now walking in peace. Our circumstances might not feel peaceful, our internal dialogue might not feel peaceful, but peace with God is ours despite our circumstances and our emotions. In John 14:27 and 16:33, Jesus spoke clearly about what he’d come to do and what is ours even today because of him. He said, “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid,” and, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
And not only that, he invites us to come to him when we feel a lack of peace and are anxious. The words of Philippians 4:6–7 might be familiar, but let them wash over you again today: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We have a good God who actively guards our hearts and minds, helping us to have minds that are steadfast.
When our circumstances seem to be shouting that God is far away, that he doesn’t care, that he isn’t who he says he is, we can look back to his Word to ground ourselves with truth, and we can also look to other believers who can testify to the goodness and peace of God in the midst of unimaginable trials. If you don’t yet know the stories of Corrie ten Boom, Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, and Tim Keller, I commend their stories to you—not because they were perfect, but because their lives so clearly point to their perfect Savior. And what about the people in your church or Bible study? What stories do they have of God’s faithfulness and peace? In his kindness, God has given us other believers to walk through life with, and we have the privilege of reminding each other what God has done, standing firm together in our security as his beloved children, and helping each other hold fast in our trust that what he has promised us will undoubtedly come to pass.
It’s Coming
Our verse this month, Isaiah 26:3, is part of a forward-looking passage in Scripture. This passage is hope-inducing as we anticipate what is yet to come. The peace sung about in Isaiah 26 is the security that God will provide for the city of his people (for more on the context of our verse this month, be sure to read our "I Need Peace!" devotional and listen to our deep dive podcast). Just a few verses after our memory verse, we read, “LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us” (Isaiah 26:12). Not only does God promise us his perfect peace, he does what’s necessary for us to experience it.
God is trustworthy, faithful, unchanging—and one day we will be with him in perfect peace and protection. What hope is ahead! And what peace he’s offering to us as we await that day. We can trust him. May the reality of true peace in God alone replace the siren song of false peace from ease and comfort, and may the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 (ESV, emphasis mine) ring in our ears as we receive God’s peace today, even as we await the perfect peace that is yet to come: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
