Perfect Peace

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.”  Isaiah 26:3

What is it that all the beauty queen contestants say when asked what they would desire?  Is in not “world peace”?  What is peace?  It’s not just the absence of war or conflict.  True peace is knowing that God has everything under control, and that there’s no need to worry or fret.  It is a calm assurance that everything will be O.K.  There’s only one way to achieve this perfect peace.  It’s certainly not through politics for politics and politicians are notorious at stirring up strife.  When I hear them on television, I certainly don’t get a “warm fuzzy” feeling.  I usually just get annoyed, agitated, or angry.

Neither does peace come by way of wealth.  A rich man was asked how much money was enough, and he replied, “Just a little bit more.”  The wealthy are never satisfied and thus never at peace with their possessions.  They have to constantly worry that their investments will fail, or that they will be preyed upon by unscrupulous people who want what they have.  It actually costs a lot of money to have a lot of money.

Peace does not come from relationships with other people, at least not a continual peace.  Our nation’s divorce rate is proof of that.  While diversity in our nation should be a cause to come together and solve common problems that plague people from all walks of life, the result of diversity has actually caused divisiveness among the nation’s inhabitants.  Folks are more concerned about getting their way than they are about seeking peaceful solutions to the many problems of our country.  Unfortunately, I don’t see this strife and discontentment coming to an end as long as we are submerged in selfishness and greed.

Every venue of life has its ups and downs, some peaceful, some not.  Isaiah hit the nail on the head, so to speak:  Trust God, lean on Him, put Him first, and defer to His judgment and peace will follow.  Life is tough, but it’s a lot tougher without the peace of God and peace with God in one’s heart.