Chapter 26 of Isaiah brought me such peace that I felt I needed to share it. After already reading in chapter 25 that the Lord will destroy death and bring us to a wonderful banquet in heaven, chapter 26 brings us encouragement that we don't have to wait for until Jesus comes. The peace that is offered in this chapter is open to us now.
Verses 1&2 speak of salvation as a wall and the gates are open to those who keep the faith. And verses 3&4 go on to say that "[God] will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on [God] because he trusts in [God]. So trust in the Lord forver for the Lord God is an everlasting rock" Though it may be difficult to stay strong in the faith when there is every sort of temptation pulling you away from it, God has brought you into his wall of salvation and will protect you. God will give you perfect peace...something that is very hard to come by in a economic crisis, or in the midst of a child's illness, or when the future of your spouse's job is uncertain, or while simply struggling to stay patient with a 2-year-old.
But God promises to give us that perfect peace when we keep our mind stayed on him. Though the world is telling us to be afraid, though our friends and families may be trembling in fear, and even if we have a tiny bit of doubt creeping in our minds...when we intentionally fight to keep our hearts and minds fixed on the Lord God, our everlasting rock, he will give us a peace that is not just satisfactory or simply acceptable...it is a peace that is perfect, without flaw. Verse 12 even says that God ordained peace for us. He already planned for us to have peace. And we can have all of this (salvation, peace, a place in heaven, freedom from death) because as verse 12 goes on to say he has indeed done for us all our works. We don't have to count on getting any of those things I have mentioned because we are good enough or we have done something to deserve them. God has done the work for us and offers those things to us by his grace.
Verses 13-15 remind me that I shouldn't worry about the state of our nation and I shouldn't have doubts about who is leading our country. These verses say that even though other lords have ruled over us, the name of God alone will be remembered. The rulers of this world have and will all die and will not be remembered. As Christians, God is our one true ruler and we know that when Jesus returns every knee will bow to Him. God has placed those rulers above us, he is in control of their plans, and ultimately their plans will be destroyed and God will continue to reign.
I am so thankful for the peace that is offered to us through the grace of God!
