Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to lead a devotion focused on the fruits of the spirit. The basic idea is that the closer you are to the Spirit, the more you will exhibit characteristics (or “fruits”) of the Spirit. These characteristics are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I spent a lot of time thinking through each of the gifts, and at first I came away thinking that I had a pretty good grasp on each of these. Then I began to think through what the opposite of each characteristic would be. Since this week is all about peace, let’s focus on that one. You know the first thing that popped up as the opposite of peace? Anxiety. Ouch. I might think I have a lot of peace, but the truth is that I experience a lot of anxiety too. Those two don’t really go hand in hand, so which is it that’s truly more prevalent for me most days?

Isaiah 26:3 says that we can experience perfect peace with God. Thanks to my study Bible, I learned something pretty cool about the phrase “perfect peace.” In the original writing, this would’ve been in Hebrew. The phrase there is “shalom shalom.” Basically, “peace peace.” In the Hebrew language, repeating a word communicates intensity. God isn’t just giving us one assurance that He brings peace; He gives us two.

We can’t just stop with the first part of verse 3 though. We have to keep going to see how we can experience perfect peace. The rest of the verse says that God will keep us in perfect peace when our mind is focused on Him because we trust Him. That means that peace and our minds are intricately connected. I can think of several other mentions of our minds and how we should think in scripture. A few key verses to explore are Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:8, and Colossians 3:2. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it’s a great place to start!

So now we see that in order to experience the perfect peace of God, our minds have to be focused and concentrated on God. Following Jesus isn’t just about doing; it’s also about thinking. We have to daily continue the work of transforming our minds. If our minds are focused on self and the problems of the world, we will never know perfect peace.

The final part of Isaiah 26:3 says that we have perfect peace by focusing our minds on God because we trust in Him. Funny how Monday’s theme of trust has come back again, right? Our minds are focused on the things that we are trusting. If I’m struggling to keep my mind focused on Jesus, maybe the question I need to ask myself is, “who has my trust?”

Reflection:

• Read Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:8, and Colossians 3:2. What do these verses teach you about your mind and how you should be thinking?
• What has your mind been focusing on? Who has your trust right now?

Family Application: Isaiah 26:1-12

Author: Cooper Herrington

Who is the strongest person you know? You might think of your mom, or dad, or maybe a superhero. A superhero uses his power to take care of people and protect them in movies or comic books. What if I told you there was a real person who takes care of us and protects us and is more powerful than any superhero could ever be? That person is God. God is powerful. God protects us. God takes care of us. God loves us. Why do you think God protects us and takes care of us? When you hear that God loves us and wants to take care of us, what do you want to tell God?

One way we see people know God’s honor and fame is by telling people about Him. Yesterday the challenge was to tell someone about how much Jesus loves them. Today’s challenge is to pray for the person you talked to. If you didn’t talk to someone yesterday, don’t worry, today is a new day and you can try today.