The Secret to Finding Peace (Isaiah 26:3-4)
- Rachel Coyle
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD God is an everlasting rock. —Isaiah 26:3-4
As I sat on the white sandy Florida beach, the ebb and flow of waves reflected the emotional roller coaster my husband and I were riding on. After our financial crash, rejoining the military was our only responsible option. He had been a civilian when we married, and I’d never wanted to be a military wife. I wasn’t made for it. When he first told me of his idea, panicked prayers erupted from my heart and lips. What could possibly calm the fear in my heart amidst our life-altering circumstances?
These verses in Isaiah give hope even in the most uncertain times. Originally written to the people of Judah in desperate need of Messiah, they also apply to God’s people today. They are part of a song the redeemed will sing when Jesus returns.
In Hebrew, the phrase “perfect peace” is literally “peace peace.” Besides intensifying the poetic nature of the song, this technique of distributive repetition emphasizes the word peace. It’s a deep, unbroken, calm steadiness of mind that doesn’t depend on circumstances. Even in the midst of trouble, sorrow, or other distractions, we can have this peace not because God has promised to change our circumstances, but because God promises to be with us in them.
God gives this gift to a particular person: the one whose mind is “stayed on him.” Worries, concerns, and fears threaten to steal our thoughts away from the Lord. When we give in and let our minds wander to the “what ifs,” we lose sight of what is. We must moment-by-moment choose to fix our minds on God, to lean on Him and rest in Him. Whenever we find our thoughts drifting, we can pull our minds away from those anxieties and bring them back to God’s truth. Mercifully, the drifting happens less as we deepen our trust in God.
To someone caught in the throes of uncertainty and fear, this sounds easier said than done. But we can learn how to trust God more. When my dad died suddenly, our young children struggled to trust God. Their limited experience and lack of personal knowledge of God presented a stumbling block. The same might be true for you. Our disappointments and fears can overshadow His goodness and make it difficult to see. But whether we’re young or old, we can cultivate trust in God by seeking Him more. God works through our Bible reading, prayer, and memorizing Scripture to deepen our understanding of Him and help us trust Him more.
Isaiah invites us to trust in the Lord forever, because He is an everlasting rock. Many Scriptures refer to the Lord as a rock (Psalm 18:2, 31, 46; 92:15; 94:22; 95:1; 144:1). When you imagine a rock, imagine a monolith like Uluru in Australia. God is not a rock you could climb up or wrap your arms around; He is a boulder towering over you and around you. His steady, unchangeable nature is in stark contrast to our ever-changing emotions, experiences, and expectations.
God is the rock I clung to when my husband said he had to return to the military. Those panicked prayers morphed into rehearsing God’s promises as I focused on Him and the truth of His Word. Sitting on the beach that day, I marveled at what God had done for me even in the midst of such an upheaval of our plans: He kept my mind in perfect, inexplicable peace.
It was so unlike me to have peace in the midst of a future full of unknowns—but not unlike God to give such a gift! When we keep our focus on the everlasting Rock, He gives us peace. He will do the same for you—God, the everlasting Rock is always faithful.
For Reflection
Is there an area where you long for perfect peace right now? How can you deepen your trust in the Lord and focus your mind on him?
How does knowing God is an ever-present, unchangeable rock encourage you today?
Thank God for His promised peace to those who fix their minds on Him and ask Him to help you trust Him.
Rachel Coyle is a biblical counselor, Bible teacher, and author of Help! She's Struggling with Pornography from Shepherd’s Press. She and her husband Philip have six children. Scripture memory plays a pivotal role in their parenting and homeschooling as they sing, write, and discuss the meaning and application of passages. The Coyles live in South Carolina where they're members of Boiling Springs First Baptist Church.