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 THE GROUND OF PEACE

Isaiah 26:3-4

“"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You: because he trusts in You.”

Romans 15:13

“I pray that God, the Source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The Prophet Isaiah states as does the Apostle Paul that our confidence, our peace, and our joy come from God. They are the fruit borne in a life of one who has their mind fixed on God, Himself.

What is the reason that a person would have their mind stayed on, fixed on God? Why would someone so focus their life to be devoted to God?

It’s important to understand that the word “devoted” in the Old Testament was the word that described the whole burnt offering. In that offering nothing was held back; everything was given over to be consumed in the surrendered worship of God.

So, again, what is the reason that someone would have their mind stayed on, fixed on God? The clear answer is because that individual trusts in God. That one believes God and knows Him to be trustworthy. Otherwise, if God is not reliable and trustworthy, why would someone have their whole life centered on Him?

And so, we know that God has revealed Himself in time, in history through His Word and by the demonstration of the Holy Spirit in power. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has forever proved the commitment and love of God to keeping His promises.

Romans 15:4

“Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.”

God’s Word is completely reliable and true because God is eternally reliable and true. He never changes; He is always the same. Therefore, we can orient not simply how we think about life, but how we live life because of the unchanging nature of His word. The Apostle Paul made sure that he declared the undiluted Word of God, the Gospel, revealing all God had done for humanity through Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:19

“They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.”

1 Corinthians 2:4-5

“And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.”

God always attested to the power of the Gospel as it was preached with signs, wonders and miracles done by the power of the Holy Spirit. These were the same signs and wonders that were done through Jesus Christ to attest to confirm everything He spoke was true, eternally true.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is completely trustworthy. We can stake the full weight of our lives on Him, every aspect, every dimension, everything. When we know that the One we have entrusted our lives to never fails, never changes, and has done everything that will ever be needed to restore our lives to wholeness once more, we can have peace that passes understanding.

Our circumstances no longer define who we are. How we “feel” is no longer the altar we worship at. We believe that God, having begun a good work in us WILL bring that work to completion by the day of Christ. The Holy Spirit living in us the Life of Jesus will cause an overflowing of confident hope, no matter what, because God is Who He says He is. We are secure…eternally secure.




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