Wars, terrorism, viruses, crime, natural disasters, assassinations, rapidly changing cultural shifts, and partisan politics—it can seem as if our nation and the world are spinning out of control.

And then there are the personal storms: a frightening diagnosis, financial uncertainty, a troubled marriage, a prodigal child, the loss of someone we love, or simply not knowing what tomorrow will bring.

If our peace depends on governments getting things right, our preferred candidates winning elections, the economy improving, our families behaving as we hope, or our circumstances working out the way we want, lasting peace will always be just beyond our reach.

But God offers something far better.

It’s not the peace of an idealized life where nothing goes wrong. It’s a peace that can exist in the middle of the storm.

Isaiah tells us exactly where that kind of peace comes from:

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Is. 26.3).

So what does it mean to have our minds “stayed” on God? And how can we learn to trust Him when everything around us seems uncertain?

Welcome to “God’s Word Day by Day,” where I blog through the Bible in a Year. I hope you’ll join me every day. If you’re not already signed up, you can do it here or subscribe and watch on YouTube.

Today’s Readings:

Isaiah 25 & 26
Psalm 107.23-32
Proverbs 25.18-19
2 Corinthians 9.1-15

The Only Way to Perfect Peace

Isaiah 25 & 26:

Perfect Peace

Chapter 26.1-4 is a picture of the church and its blessings. Verse 1 says we have “salvation for walls and bulwarks.” Verse 3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” The NLT says, “whose thoughts are fixed on you.” And the NASB says He will keep the one whose mind is “steadfast.”

When we belong to Him, that assurance (Jn. 10.27-30) is a wall or bulwark around our hearts. We can trust that we are secure in our relationship with Him (Rom. 8.31, 38-39) and that he cares for His own.

In verse 3, the word translated stayed or fixed means “to lean, lie, rest, support, put, uphold, lean upon.”

The word steadfast means “firmly fixed in place: immovable, not subject to change: firm in belief, determination, or adherence.”

When our hearts and minds are steadfast, immovable, resting in the truths of Scripture, and supported by God’s faithfulness to keep His promises, we can have perfect peace.

To get there, we must spend time in His presence, saturating ourselves in His Word, talking to Him, and listening as He speaks to our hearts. It’s impossible to trust someone whose character we don’t know, but as we read of His faithfulness to the generations before us, as we learn how He works in our lives through prayer, as we meditate on His promises, we come to know Him. And when we do, we’ll be better able to put our faith and trust in Him.

Verse 4:

Trust in the Lord always,
for the Lord God is the eternal Rock (NLT).

Christ is our eternal, never-changing Rock. Trusting Him is the only way to true, lasting, and perfect peace.

Psalm 107.23-32:

He Calms the Storm 

Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still (vv. 28-29).

God has complete and sovereign control of His world, including the elements. And He has the same control over the events of our lives. If you are in a storm today, whether natural, spiritual, relational, or emotional, decide to put your complete faith and trust in Him. If you are His child and you keep your eyes on Him, He has promised to never allow any storm too great for you to handle or force you to sin in response to it (1 Cor. 10.13).

But He wants us to ask for His help. Verse 28 in our reading says, “Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble …” James said we have not because we ask not (Jas. 4.1), and Jesus said in Luke 18.1, “…that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” Call out to Him and expect great things.

Today’s Other Readings:

Proverbs 25.18-19:

Lies and Gossip

A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow (v. 18).

Lies and gossip can not only wound but can destroy a person’s reputation or worse.

2 Corinthians 9.1-15:

It’s All from Him

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness (v. 10).

God not only blesses us in return when we are cheerful, generous givers, but He is the one who provides everything we have in the first place!

Coming Up:

In the coming days, we will look at the nature of strongholds, talk about the most powerful force in the world and how to overcome evil using it, look at the cost of turning our backs on God, and the 5 reasons God allows thorns in our lives. We will also discuss the all-important question, “Is your faith genuine?”

I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them. You might also like to check out the latest videos on our YouTube channel.

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Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥

Note about this post:

I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years.

A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”

I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)