Perfect Peace

You may already know that one of my favorite verses is Isaiah 26:3-4.

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.

These verses have been my encouragement throughout the last 2 1/2 years, and just when I think I have worn them out, God brings them to my mind again. Lately, I have been tired and overwhelmed. It seems like there is a lot of things going on in our life that I cannot control. I don't necessarily know what to do or what to say. The apartment has been too quiet; silence makes me nervous. And despite the myriad of things on my mind, life keeps going and I am forced to try keep up with it, or play catch up over the weekend.

The thing I do know and the thing that keeps me going is that I can have peace when my mind is stayed on the Lord because He is my stength. My mind can only be stayed on the Lord when I am in His Word and talking to Him daily - which has not been happening and explains the lack of peace.

Later on, in that chapter of Isaiah, it reads:

Yes, in the way of Your judgments,
O LORD, we have waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

I love the phrase, "The desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You." We have been studying the names of God in a ladies Bible study and this month we are studying Jehovah-Shalom. Jehovah-Shalom means "The Lord of Peace." In a world full of chaos, crisis, concerns, and fears I am so thankful that I know the God of Peace - who promises peace, brings peace, and is peace - and that I can rest in Him no matter the circumstances.