26:3 Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee.

The Merriam Webster dictionary gives several definitions of peace: "freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions", " a state of tranquillity or quiet", and "harmony in personal relations". There are other definitions, of course. Those that deal with government and war. It is the first three that I believe God has promised here in Isaiah 26:3.

Worry and stress have become constants in the world we live in. We worry about the future, we worry about the past. Worry, worry, worry. We thrive on worry, stress, and anxiety.

Yet God's word clearly offers us a way past our worry. He clearly offers us an alternative.

Search the internet for any ailment you have, and you are bound to find home remedies. Depression and anxiety are hot topics with many vitamins and minerals purported to help control them.

Here in Isaiah, however, is the real cure. Here is the one and only cure that will keep you calm amidst the storms of life, that will help you make it through those times when you just don't know if you can stand one more day.

Keep your mind stayed on HIM.

There is a saying "Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."

I don't quite agree with this saying, because I think worry does get us somewhere. It gets us farther away from God. When my daughter was small, she'd sit on the edge of her rocking chair and push back with her feet. She didn't actually rock, of course. She just scooted across the floor. Farther and farther away from her original position. That's what worry does. We start there in position with God, believing he can and will take care of us, answer our prayers, or save us. Then we begin to worry, and little by little, we take back whatever it is we're trusting God for and scoot farther and farther away from him.

I know this from experience.

A decade ago, my marriage hit a wall that I didn't know if we would overcome. I prayed for guidance, and at times begged God for an easy way out. But through his word and through prayer, God showed me that I wasn't to leave. That there wasn't an easy way out and that my husband and my marriage would be healed and freed from Satan's attack and imprisonment.

I never dreamed it would take almost ten years to see God's promise come to pass. I thought a few weeks, a few months at the most. Certainly, God knew how important this was to me! Certainly, he knew that this needed to be done now!

But a year came around and there was no lasting or noticable change. So I began to worry. What would happen if nothing ever changed? What would happen if I ended up divorced and alone with three kids? Although both my husband and I had always believed my being home with the kids was God's will for our lives, I went back to college. After all, I told myself, I needed to plan for the day when my marriage was over!

I went to college for three years. During that time, the only changes in our family and our marriage were from bad to worse. (In case you don't know, preparing for God's promises to fail somewhat hinders the whole faith process.)

Finally, a year came when we began to see some change. I stayed home for a year. No college, no work. I was just home with the kids again, my husband was better if not completely fine, and everything was so much better than it had been in years. I even wrote a few books. I began to think maybe the Lord was going to answer my prayers after all.

And of course, the devil just can't stand that. So he came at us full force once again. Financial problems, the same old marital problems. Depression. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. Instead of holding my ground, I let worry get the best of me. I went to work because once again I just wasn't sure it would all work out. I gave my husband ultimatums. I gave God ultimatums. And everything went from bad to worse. To even worse.

I grew further and further away from God. I worried constantly. I couldn't sleep. I cried daily. I hated my job, my home, my very life. I felt as if I had no where to turn. There were times I would throw myself on my bed and pray, but I was so angry. I knew God was still promising that everything was going to be fine, but I was finding it more and more difficult to believe and to keep my faith in his promises.

During all of this, I still attended church, still taught Sunday School. I still did all the things I had always done. But my relationship with God and with everyone else was so strained that I could barely function.

And it didn't get better. It got worse. I lost both my grandparents within a few weeks of each other. I lost my own moral compass. I quit teaching Sunday School. I still went to church pretty regularly, but it was hard to make myself go. I felt as if God had abandoned me, and I think I knew I was abandoning him.

Finally, my breaking point came. I told God that I knew he told me to stay with my husband. But I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't hang on. I couldn't be the person I had become. I needed to come back into fellowship with him. I begged his forgiveness. I knew I was saved. I didn't doubt that God would still love me, but I knew it would hurt him. Because somewhere in my heart I could still hear his promises, I still knew that if I allowed him to keep them, he would restore my life and restore it abundantly. But I was also filled with the feeling that he would forgive me if this is what I had to do.

I didn't leave my marriage. In the end, I simply couldn't do it, but I began to change.  I began to attend church again. And I began to seek God's face, to keep my mind stayed on him instead of on the problems that I faced.

Our problems intensified to the point that we had no choice but to start over again. We moved to a small town, feeling as if God had given us a new beginning. My husband, our youngest son, and I all became involved in a church. My husband became the man God had promised me so long ago. 

We've had ups and downs in the last two years. But our marriage and our faith has been restored and renewed. God has showed us time and again that he has a path mapped out for us, and that if we seek his face, if we keep our hearts stayed on him, he will guide us in the way we should go. He will bless us with perfect peace.

Worry is part of human nature. Some of us are bigger worriers than others. Some of us can sit around and think up things to worry about, and some of us can easily be bogged down by the slightest of worries.

I'm learning not to worry. As the New Year started, my husband told me he felt  2009 would be a good year. It has been so many years since he has had hope, I could only marvel at the change God has wrought.

"Freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions", " a state of tranquillity or quiet", and "harmony in personal relations" -- All of these and more is God's perfect peace.

One of the most read chapters of the Bible has to be Psalms 23. Why? Because it lays out in perfect detail the perfect peace God offers.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In this day and age, is it possible that we could reach a place where we shall not want? Yes, it is. God will fill that void that leads us to want what we can't have, to guide us over the desire and longing for things that will not be ours. He promises his provisions for our needs, and with perfect peace, that provision becomes more than enough.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside still waters. What a peaceful, peaceful picture.

He restoreth my soul. Perfect peace. A soul restored, revived, renewed. And He will do it over and over again. When the wounds of this world chip away at your soul, God will restore it once again. Perfect peace.

He leadeth me in the path's of righteousness for his name's sake. He doesn't just throw us out there and say "do good"...God actually leads us and directs us along the way. He helps us as we keep our minds stayed on him. He promises perfect peace, and then promises to help us with the requirements.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Perfect peace. Even in the face of death. It is perfect peace that makes us able to rejoice through our tears because our loved ones have gone home to be with their Lord. It is perfect peace that enables us to face terminal illnesses with faith and courage. It is perfect peace that brings to mind his promise to comfort us. It is his presence every step of the way that brings that perfect peace.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest [2] my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  Perfect peace. To know that even though the enemy surrounds us, even though the enemy has captured us, even though the enemy plots and plans and brings their hatred against us, God is still by our side. Not only is he by our side, but he is preparing a table for us. He is preparing a meal. I've heard people say, "I can't eat. I'm too upset." How wonderful to think that perfect peace enables us to let go of that worry, that nervousness, that anxiety and simply enjoy the things God has set before us. Enjoy it abundantly. I try to imagine how it would feel to have God annoint my head with oil, to stand before Jesus and have him place his oil soaked finger on my brow. How then can I worry? How can any earthly concern wrinkle my brow or enter my mind. As I stand before Jesus, my mind fully stayed on him, all worries evaporate, replaced by a perfect peace. My cup runneth over.  

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. [3]  What more can the Lord promise us that would assure our perfect peace? Goodness and mercy and a home with him forever.


It is difficult when you turn on the television and hear the news of the day  not to be disquieted or oppressed by worry and anxiety. But God's promise is true regardless of what causes your worry or anxiety or depression. He will give you perfect peace. He will calm your thoughts and bring you peace.

The only requirement is to keep your mind stayed on him. To trust in him.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

This is my prayer for you. That God's peace keep your hearts and minds through Jesus, and that you learn firsthand the peace that passes all understanding.