You Will Keep In Perfect Peace All …
Whose Thoughts Are Fixed On You.” (Isaiah 26:3 NLT).
Dear Friend, Family and Reader,
How wonderfully encouraging, and reassuring to know that as you take on a new week, in a new month, that you have Peace, I mean Perfect Peace, in a world so turbulent that it is possible to use turbulence as the other name for our world. Peace, a very rare commodity; the Nobles; Powerful; Wealthy; the Egg Heads (Academically Educated); and the Who Is Who; as Well as The Poor; Beggarly; and Simple; all search for it. If the truth be told, many don’t find it even by the time they return to the grave; yes, this is an extremely rare commodity that has defied any permutation of acquisition. Yet it is offered freely to “… all who trust in You (GOD); all whose thoughts are fixed on You”!
Incredible; impossible; unfathomable; just as it is unbelievable; that something so seemingly simple and easy to experience, is outside the reach of people, even those in the ivory towers and the ‘learned’ of all ages. The Peace you need; the Peace that you are willing to empty your vault, house, and bank account to acquire and yet not possible, is offered to you on a platter of Gold. Wow, so counter intuitive is the mode of operation of the almighty God; that the most powerful should bow in humble adoration. So true did God Himself say that mankind by its wisdom has failed to know what is important for them to know, even the knowledge of the most high and the way of life; life eternal! And He asks rhetorically: where are the wise of this age?
This Peace is not found in money; not in wealth and possessions; not in positions, reputation and influence; not in pleasures; not in science and technology and not in religion. It is not in a thing; a place; in people; and not in tribe or tongue. It is for this reason that the wealthiest; the most powerful; the most brilliant; the most self-denying; the most self-abasing; and the most pious and religious of this world have not been able to attain unto it. This Peace surpasses all understanding; yet so sublime; surreal; calming; satisfying and fulfilling to those who find it (Him). Perhaps this explains why it cannot be found in all the places and things earlier mentioned. Go back to our passage of interest, it states: “You …” there lies the secret; there is a You; a Being; that gives and keeps people in this Peace, which the word of God the Bible, describes as different from what the world can give; and also surpasses all understanding. Yes, it surpasses all understanding, which is why the wisest of the world cannot discern it, how much more attain it, if they rely on their wisdom alone. But it is given freely, did I say freely? Seemingly free, but actually not so, because it was bought at the highest price, which no human treasure or mechanism can afford and pay for; no it was bought by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the reason why He is the One who gives and keep people in this Peace. Hear Him: “Peace I leave with you. My Peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives…”
So you see, you receive and come into this Peace through a relationship; the most important and vital relationship possible on this earth; the relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason the Contemporary English Version (CEV) translates part of Isaiah 26:3 as “…to those whose faith is firm.” The Amplified Bible Classical (AMPC) translates this part as follows: “… whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You and hopes confidently in You.” Faith, Mind; Character; Inclination; Commitment; Trust (lean); Hope; and Confidence; are all involved. Put in another way, The Totality of you is required for this relationship that gives you access to this indescribable Peace. The Peace that is in a Person; no, Peace which is a Person; because Jesus Christ is described as the “Prince of Peace” and in another part of Scripture as “our Peace” is available to you only on the basis of a relationship that is at the cost of the Totality of your being. Did I say Cost? But you do not own your life in the first place, so what is the big deal? In addition, some of us were willing to give everything to attain this Peace, which seemed very elusive. Others have been doing things – some too horrible to put in print; so you should not have any hesitation. If you have any, it is from my own perspective, due to what I consider a wrong and faulty sense of ownership and life generally. Accept it: you do not own your life; even if you believe that you just happened; or come from mosquito larvae or toad/tadpole! So to cling to what you keep by just an air’s breathe, a breathe that you do not control does not seem sensible to me. So relinquish that false sense of ownership; submit to your Maker God; and come into this vital and life transforming relationship and have the Peace you have been looking for all your life.
And about this Peace, it is not like the peace of the world. Not the absence of trouble; agitation or challenges. That is what the world looks for; to live in a bubble; a dream land where everything is fair and without any form of pain; a peace that is so far from reality that it is unattainable. This peace of the world cannot help people live a normal life. No, that is not the Peace that Jesus Christ represents and gives. This Peace is the Peace that stabilizes in the midst of the greatest of the storms of life. The Peace that holds you and enables you to function in the midst of troubles and turbulences, just like a little baby sleeps away in the arms or back of a loving mother, even though the world around h/her is crashing. Hear how it is described: “People with their minds set on You, You Keep Completely Whole, Steady on Their Feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit” (MSG). This Peace, which is not a feeling, is also Peace and reconciliation with your Maker, in the now and the hereafter. This is another reason Jesus Christ is described as our Peace; who reconciles between tribes and tongues; and between mankind and God. One more thing: this Peace is not for the wicked; and the wicked is the one who says that there is no God and that Jesus Christ is not the Saviour of the world. Do you want to be completely whole, and steady on your feet in a turbulent world? Then reconcile yourself with your Maker, and live in the perpetual perfect Peace in the world of turbulence; and in eternity with your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Have a God-Focused and Blessed day and week, Amen.
References: 1 Corinthians 1:20-25;Philipians 4:7; Ephesians 2:14; Hebrews 12:24;Jeremiah 11:14; Isaiah 48:22; Psalms 10”4; 14:1-3.
Atsenuwa@ Passionate@Forthright
