In my last blog, we started looking at 3 principles of peace based on 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 himself, is the Rock eternal.
God keeps us not just in peace, but in perfect peace! The first principle of perfect peace we looked at was the principle of perception. Often times, a simple shift in our perspective releases peace into our hearts. (If you did not read this blog, you can click here)
The second principle of peace is our purity. Principle #1 is our perception. Principle #2 is our purity. Look at Isaiah 32:17-18
The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.
Isaiah tells us that the fruit of our salvation will be peace. But the people of God were making one critical mistake that was jeopardizing their peace. It’s a mistake we are prone to make as well! Here it is….
The people of God were making lies their refuge!
Look at Isaiah 28:15
Isaiah 28:15 “for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter”
The lie they were believing was that another nation would protect them in battle. They were trusting in man and not God and as a result were taking refuge in a lie and didn’t even realize it! Again, they were attempting to find refuge(peace) in a lie. Ouch!
Yet, if we are all honest, one reason we sometimes engage in unGodly practices or thought patterns is because we believe they will bring us peace.
And maybe they do, in the short term, but never for the long term. Never in a way that truly satisfies the deepest longing of our souls.
Look at what the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:6
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Setting our mind on the things below and living with a mind that is set on the flesh, works contrary to the Spirit of God within us that is life and peace.
We simply can not take refuge in the lie that says that this world offers us the peace that our soul longs for. Look at what Solomon tells us about the truth of living according to the wisdom of God:
Proverbs 3:17 Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.
All the ways of the Lord ultimately bring us peace whereas the ways of the flesh quench and can extinguish the true peace of God.
One way to know which camp we fall into is to check our thought life when we are under pressure or stressed.
Recently I was studying through the story of Jacob deceiving Esau out of his birthright. After the fact, Jacob’s mother Rebekah says something interesting to Jacob about the mindset of Esau:
Genesis 27:42 Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you.
Esau was consoling himself with the thought of…..
In other words, Esau was trying to make peace with what just happened and he did so by indulging in the flesh with an extreme form of carnality-murder. But the principal in this example applies to us all.
You can tell if you are trusting in a lie by what you use to console yourself with when you are stressed and under pressure.
•For example, when someone offends me do I turn to a mindset that is marked by bitterness? Do I find myself continuously thinking “how can I get revenge?”
•Do I turn to lust, materialism, or even food to console myself when I am battling emotionally?
•Do I become cynical, flippant, or apathetic towards God when it appears like He is not answering my prayers?
Ok, I probably just struck a nerve with some people reading this. (I felt some conviction as I wrote it!). However, what Isaiah tells us is exactly what I need to hear:
All these other “refuges” are ultimately lies!
They are counterfeits to the true peace Jesus promises us in John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
We must set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2, Philippians 4:8) and bring our thought lives into alignment with the Spirit.
We must tap into the Holy Spirit that empowers us to take refuge in Christ—the Prince of Peace.
And if you have found yourself, like I have from time to time, taking refuge in a lie, then listen to the solution God provides through Isaiah:
Isaiah 30:15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,”
I can repent (turn) from whatever refuge I’ve established in my life that is not of God and the result will be true rest. And I can recommit myself to trusting in God alone and the result with be strength.
Repentance and trust….rest and strength….sounds like true peace to me!
We will wrap up this little blog series on peace with principle #3 soon. It’s actually the most obvious principle, but often the most neglected. I look forward to sharing it in my next blog.
Until then….
Peace!