Scripture: Isaiah 26:3-4
Journal: What is the relationship between peace and trust in your
experience? What grows trust? What grows peace? What is the level of both peace and trust in
your life and faith these days? Why?
Reflection:
Peace and trust are intimately connected. It is impossible, it seems, to have one
without the other. I mean, how can I
ever have real peace if I do not trust that my life is fully and completely in
the hands of someone strong enough and loving enough to take care of it? If I do not trust that truth, then I will be
constantly trying to take control of my life and my circumstances myself, which
is incredibly un-peaceful. I don’t know
about you, but when the responsibility for the management and care of my life
and world falls solely on my shoulders, it creates all kinds of anxiety and
fear.
God obviously knows this
connection. He knows that unless we
fully trust him, it will be impossible for us to ever fully experience his
peace. The Hebrew word for trust offers
us a great picture of this. The Hebrew
word for peace is batach, which means to attach yourself to something (or
someone) secure. When we trust in God,
we tie ourselves to the eternal, the immovable, the unchanging, the
powerful and loving God who both can and will care for us. And when we are tied to something eternal and
immovable and all-powerful, we can finally be at peace.
He is able to keep in
perfect peace him whose heart is steadfast.
The ESV translates it him whose mind is stayed on you. Either way, we have a part in this life of
trust and peace. It is to keep our minds
steadfast, or stayed on God. The Hebrew
word used here is camak, which means to lean, lay, or rest upon. As long as we lay our minds and our souls of
the Heart of Love, we will find peace.
We will be able to trust. If we
do not, the storms of life and the chaos of circumstances will make it
impossible for us to live in anything but fear and anxiety and insecurity. I think that’s why Jesus said, “Do not let
your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) The choice is ours. We can scurry and jockey and rush frantically
around, anxiously trying to keep our lives and our worlds in order, or we can lay
our heads on the Heart of Love and trust him to care for us the way that he
promises he will? Today, which will it
be?
Prayer
Closing
Prayer: People with their minds set on you, you keep
completely whole, steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit.
Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure
thing. (The Message)
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