You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. (Isa. 26:3)
WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE at night? Usually it’s because we can’t turn off the thoughts of the day. Maybe you had an experience that jarred you or pleased you or frustrated you or terrified you. Perhaps someone said something you didn’t expect. It might have been a compliment, but more likely—if it’s keeping you awake—it was an insult or a criticism. Or perhaps someone was blunt, lacking tact, and told the truth a little too forcefully.
Whatever the cause, those kinds of things often disrupt our peace of mind. Isaiah believed if our “minds are steadfast,” God will keep us in “perfect peace.” The New Living Translation expresses it this way: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
Do you carry pictures in your wallet, your phone, or on some other electronic device? If so, whose pictures do you carry? Likely those whom you love. Why would anyone carry pictures of a stranger?
Whose image do you carry in your mind? If we fix our minds and hearts on God, who loves us with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3), it is difficult to get too upset about the slights and insults of others. Yes, they hurt. But when we remember God loves us, He sets our minds at ease and fills our hearts with His peace.
Day by day, hour by hour, set your mind on the One who loves you.
Ron McClung works at his denomination’s world headquarters and lives in Fishers, Indiana, with his wife, Carol. They have two sons and nine grandchildren.
