Perfect Peace on a Level Path

Isaiah 26:1-10 Peace is one of those commodities that is sought after and talked a lot about but always seems to be illusive. Seems to be hinged on: if This would only happen, if the government would pass that law, if I had a different job, If the weather would change, if... if... if... God’s peace has never been dependent on outside circumstances. It’s about a state of being and a relationship on the inside. The passage in Isaiah is primarily about the land of Judah in the time of the millennial kingdom, but the principles discussed are true for all time. As with so many of the promises of God; the promises are true and valid if certain things are in place and certain conditions are met. In this case “perfect peace” is to be had if our mind is steadfast as a result of trusting in God. It does not depend on an “if or a “maybe”. Our part of the bargain is to keep our minds firmly fixed on God, especially in the person of Jesus Christ. We are to be focused on what He is doing and His Word as it applies to where we are. We need to trust Him; that He is faithful, that He loves us, that He will work all things for good as we love Him and are called according to His purposes. His part is that He will keep us in perfect peace. The peace goes out the window as we take our eyes off Him and onto the “what if’s” and “maybes”. Verse 5 puts it in a nutshell, “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” He goes on to say that the path of the righteous is level and smooth. Do our paths become rocky, hole-filled, and twisted because God makes them that way, or because we ourselves are the saboteurs. The only righteousness we have is what we have been given through faith in Christ. He will lead us on a straight path through the mine field, except for the mines that we have planted ourselves.