07
Apr
New International Version Isaiah 26:3-4
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock eternal.”
I have the following musings from this text:
- How do I learn to trust in God? It starts with my mind, and ‘staying’ my mind on God. It’s similar to training we do for other things, like a race or a developing a new skill. It can sometimes require discipline. Some people talk about this as mastering emotions by interrupting unhelpful thought patterns (like replacing an image of a demeaning boss with a slice of cherry pie). Emotions can play a helpful role in alerting us to something that we need to notice, but then we can exit that emotion without it holding us hostage. We are cooperating with God and his design for our bodies to collapse negative emotions and allow God to renew our minds.
- What about that ‘perfect peace’? The Hebrew for this phrase is ‘shalom shalom.’ It’s a double dose, or double affirmation. The word ‘shalom’ has deep meaning, conveying total well-being at the deepest level. It’s what God desires for us. Okay, but what’s the basis for experiencing this shalom, regardless of our circumstances?
- Because God is trustworthy. Our Rock. Who will not waver, or forget, or be overcome by anything at all. God is really the only thing/one we can trust in.
So then my prayer to God is this:
God, I don’t know how to train my mind to take unhelpful thoughts and emotions captive, but I want to learn, and through this experience more of YOU and your perfect peace, your total well-being. You have proven to be trustworthy, and you are not going anywhere. Help me fix my eyes on you, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.