ISAIAH 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.
Where does that insidious anxiousness arise? No matter where or how it manifests, it usually begins within the mind - thoughts, obsessions, memories, projections; we ruminate over the past, we stress about the present, and we worry about the future. Most of the time, all of this comes from simple mental images and stories we either experienced and replay, or are anticipating and fantasize about. Even in the present moment, we make silent judgements and assumptions about our situation that might not be accurate.
This verse in Isaiah tells us that God will keep us in a state of peace - PERFECT peace - if our minds are steadfast. So what does it mean to have a steadfast mind? The rest of the verse gives us a clue - steadfastness has to do with trusting in the Lord. Indeed, if we give it all to God, immediately worries melt away because often times the anxiousness comes from a need or desire to control a situation, and when it feels out of our control, the panic arises. But if we give that control over to God, we can breathe easier, knowing that the burden of being director of this whole Life Event is not our job, but God's. Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it - the world and all who live in it." We can rest easier in the knowledge that God's got everything under his direction.
Sometimes though, worries get real - VERY real. Is it possible to remain steadfast in our minds when our worst fears actually do manifest? Look at Job. His entire life began to fall apart before his eyes. He certainly had much to worry about. Job said in 3:26: "I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” In fact, one of his friends commented that he was "tearing himself to pieces with his anger" (Job 18:4). He cursed the day he was born. But his friend responded that he had a vision in which a voice told him (4:17-19):
"‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker? If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth!'"
His friend further instructs (5:8) "“But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him."
Job continues to grieve and wallow. We certainly sympathize. We've been there. He cries out to God, asking Him why such turmoil has befallen him. Then his other friend chimes in (11:7-8):
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?...(13-16): Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. You will surely forget your trouble..."
He is telling Job to be steadfast - "stand firm, without fear, devote your heart and stretch your hands to him, and your troubles will melt away." Notice he didn't say the troubles will GO away, but that Job will FORGET them, in other words, he will be at peace, regardless of their presence. In 22:21, his friend says, “Submit to God and be at peace with him."
Of course, Job's friends had things off about Job, and judged God wrongly, assuming that God was punishing Job for sins he must have committed, when in fact Job had not done anything wrong. In Job's case, he was already submitted to God, and yet disquiet continued to pursue him. But this is also the lesson: his friends are accurate in their statements about not being able to fathom God's power and plans, yet they failed to see that in their judgement of Job, they were in fact leaning on their own understanding of the situation (see Day 4: Proverbs 3:5-6).
Job's friends assumed Job was being punished for being bad, when in fact Job was being tested for being righteous. God wanted to demonstrate just how steadfast the human heart can be. Let this story be a promise to you - that your heart is perfectly capable of being steadfast, just as his peace is perfectly available. You CAN remain steady in your trust in the Lord, because, as Job's friend explains, God PLACES trust in our hearts. That means that the perfect peace we are promised is always within us, ready to access when we trust.
"The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7). It's a sacred loop between your heart and the Lord's: His peace will guard your heart and mind, which will remain steadfast and trusting, which will bring you deeper into His peace.
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