ISAIAH 26 vs 3

LOOKING FOR PEACE

ISAIAH 26:3 (Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee).


Defining peace will to a large extent help us to clearly understand what it is and possibly how to get it. Oxford dictionary defines peace as’ ‘
Peace as I define it is an assured state of mind that lacks anxiety and is worry free.

Integrity: if we say the worlds peace is like 1john2:15-17, meaning that it will always not last but pass away; then it will be good to note that Gods perfect peace is like himself; Of great value, integrity, worth and value. Call it whatever sound sure and firm, it’s tied to Rev1:17-18 God declares”:17 and when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: Rev 1:18 I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death”
So whatever comes from such a personality will definitely possess a lasting perfect quality.

James 1:17: every good and perfect gift comes from and cometh down from the father of light with whom there’s no shadow of turning. This will help us understand the distinction between the man given peace and the perfect nature of the God given peace. Whatever God gives is perfect, so when the bible talks about the lord giving perfect peace, we know that He (GOD) is simply living up to the qualities of his nature.

Recall “be yea holy (perfect) for the lord your God is holy. (Perfect)
The word perfect is a desired state that mankind in all his endeavor aspires to get to since creation, it would surprise you to know that while man struggles to be perfect, God on the other hand is perfect, HE does not need to aspire like we do, perfect is to God what sinful nature is to man. Man does not rehearse the practice of sin; it flows naturally, cos there’s an in dwelling, an abundance of sin living in man.

Similarly, God is an embodiment of perfection; it flows from abundance with him. Another possible way to understand what we’ve said thus far is by looking at how hard it is to live a righteous life without God, its impossible. The lord gives perfect peace therefore should not be hard to understand since the idea if wickedness is not hard t emanate form the heart of a natural man.

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keeps him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. When you divide the above scripture as I did below, you’ll find out that it contains much more.
First: thou wilt keep him in perfect peace
Secondly: whose mind is stayed on you?
Finally: because he trusteth in thee.
What we can clearly see from the first division is that peace differs, so to make understanding much easier, I did this:
-you can have peace
-you can have perfect peace.

The outstanding word is perfect, which I intend to discuss in subsequent paragraphs.
The first kind of peace can come from anywhere, Recall” John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. “it therefore means that the world gives peace and God gives peace(perfect).it equally means that the quality of peace is a function of the integrity of who gives it.
The second kind of peace which is perfect cannot be found elsewhere but with the LORD.

It therefore means that we would have to look into the many types of the first kind of peace and find out what makes it ordinary or different that God had to distinguish his peace by attributing the word perfect to it.
In economics, the law of diminishing marginal utility proves that the more of a commodity you consume, the little or no satisfaction you’ll derive at a given point in the consumption curve. You see, when you consume the first bottle of soft drink, you feel good, and the level of satisfaction diminishes in further consumption the same commodity. This law holds that satisfaction is lost during subsequent consumption of a commodity.

Similarly, when you patronize the world for peace, at first instance you’ll feel good ,just like the example above, but when you expect the satisfaction to last, when you need it most, then you reach out only to find out that your so called peace is no where to be found. That’s how the world goes for these that live by it rules. Just when you think you have arrived, something will always come up. You’ll be in constant touch with calamity, want fear, depression etc. You’ll never get the peace you initially set out to acquire.

Imagine you had a stick of cigar, then a pack; you just get entangled with smoking that you never really understand when it will be enough. Rather, amidst your long smoking search, you discover you have cancer. Where is the peace? Friend I can assure you that nothing of the world satisfies,not even the SEX THING? You see a lady/man, your eyes run around him/her, the next one you stare again, as many as pass bye, the natural man keeps looking. How come our eyes never stop looking, even when you are with one or when it is the same person you’ve seen before. Or is it that the first sight did not give enough peace?

What about sex, you sleep with one person, yet another and you desire more. Moving from one bed to another but never discovering the long sought peace. Just when you think you’ve got it, a deeper sense of emptiness, anxiety and lack creeps up within you. New problems always arise from indulging to be at peace.

From experience, I found out that whenever I fall into the same sin again and again, I keep wondering why I always give in, and I found out that somewhere between my desires, I felt that if I do this, I’ll be at peace, only to find out that the guilt that comes as a result of my actions far exceeds the momentary gain I sought to enjoy,give the act any name you like,there's no sin that rewards in the long run.

Recall 1Jhn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1John 2:16 for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1John 2:17 and the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abides for ever.

Verse16 clearly outlines; “everything that’s in the world” As such the peace that comes from it will certainly pass away.



WORD PERFECT

Thus far, we have been able to look into the definition of peace and the various ways people tend to acquire peace and how the peace never last.

Now, I’ll like us to go further by looking at the outstanding word that distinguishes Gods peace from the world’s peace. That word is PREFECT.
In Gen 6:9 these are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

The word perfect in the scripture above is in past tense, meaning that his relationship with God earned him the perfection. Whatever it was that God saw in Noah that he counted him perfect must have exceeded his bad drinking habits which showed another face of Noah’s life. But not to worry, he walked with God.

Similarly in the 17th chapter, Abraham was told to walk before God and be perfect.
In the life of Abraham, if anything was outstanding for which God loved hi m, it was for his faith, the idea if believing God, he believed God beyond the various physical oppositions that he saw. This was the same faith that I believe that God saw in Noah and called him perfect. You can now see that God regards a life of faith as a perfect life. If you are a person that works in the understanding of faith, then God sees you as perfectly might ask what about the many things that don’t seem right in y life? Well Noah had issues, Abraham equally had challenges. If you recall the bible says in Heb 11:6 but without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

In another scripture, we see perfection mentioned and this will blow your mind, the devil was perfect...... (Can you imagine?)
Ezek 28:15 Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee.

You see the God sees the ways of men as a product of what is within the person. At such, the devils ways aligned with God, so he was perfect until iniquity was found in him. If your ways are upright, then your faith must align with God, because it’s not possible to conduct you ways uprightly without proper guidance from God. The devils life once revolves around God until iniquity was found him. His heart was lifted up. The idea of a lifted heart meant that pride creep into him so he fell.
I’m trying hard to show you what God regards as perfect so that can subsequently understand how that is related to perfect peace the isaiah26:3 says God gives .

To be cont...