Isaiah 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Some of those reading this may have heard a riddle similar to this: ‘what do you do when life throws you a lemon? You make lemonade!’ The thought behind that riddle and others like it is that you need to learn to roll with the punches. You need to accept that life will send different challenges and there is nothing you can do about that so just go with the flow and make the best of it.
Many people bring that philosophy into their brand of “Christianity”. It is a branch of Calvinism. Calvinism suggests that God is sovereign and some people just happen to be fortunate enough to have His blessing in their lives and others aren’t so blessed. However, there is nothing you can do about it so live life to the full and hope for the best.
The Bible teaches a much different way. The Bible is the Word of God. There are many “spin doctors” who can twist the Bible and make it say what they want it to say. In today’s world they can even pop a verse up on the screen and you can see it there. They do not keep the context in mind and so you see the verse and while you are reading the verse, they are telling you how they want you to interpret the verse. It is manipulation. It works well. Many people are drawn into that method of theology. In the end they feel so good about themselves. They were able to laugh at some point in the soothsayers talk. They were able to cry at some point. However, in the end they were made to feel good about the over all situation. They give a sigh of relief and carry on.
Isaiah was chosen by God to be a prophet to the nation of Judah (Israel). Judah had forsaken God and Isaiah was directed to warn them of the impending judgment at the hands of the Chaldeans. He lived about 160 years prior to the actual invasion by Babylon. Isaiah also wrote in great detail about the coming of the Messiah. The hope for Judah was to turn to God. In spite of their rebellion, God was still going to provide the promised “seed of the woman” that was given in Genesis 3:15. The hope of Judah and all of humanity is to know the true God and to trust in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
From the time of the creation of man until the end of this earth, God shows us that man has a choice to make. God promises to bless man under certain conditions.
The word translated as “perfect” speaks of completeness. God offers complete peace for those who have their mind stayed on Him. The word “stayed” means to uphold, to rest, to support. The person who is fully trusting in the LORD will be in perfect peace with God. If we look at the context, it does not say that this person will not face any problems. Rather it tells us that in the midst of the problems, this person will be able to rest in God.
You notice the last part of the verse gives further help. “Because he trusteth in thee.” The one who will have this perfect peace is the one who knows the true God and is walking with Him. He has not just taken everything in stride. He has chosen the right path that affords him the promises of God.
The Bible is very clear that:

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5:12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

We all come into this world in the same way. We are all born with a corrupted heart. Ephesians 2 puts it this way:

Ephesians 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

We all come into this world lost and we demonstrate that by the choices we make. We do make choices. Those choices prove who we are and they also have consequences.

Galatians 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

You cannot expect to get the right results when you don’t put the right ingredients in place. There is only one source where we can get the right ingredients.
Our text tells us we need to trust in God. Ephesians 2:1 tells us we need God to “quicken” us. The word “quicken” means to be made alive. It speaks of activating. Our souls need to be made alive.
Physical death is a reality we must all face. We do not know the timing. We do not know how many years we have. We know there is a destination for all. The Bible tells us we have a choice to make. We can choose God’s perfect peace, or we can struggle and try to manufacture a peace that does not last.
Jesus stated:

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The nation of Israel was not at peace in the days of Isaiah. Isaiah was at peace with God. He chose to listen to God. He chose to turn to God and trust in Him. He could prophesy the truth because he knew the truth. He did not know it all. He was learning and he was trusting in the One Who does know it all. He could speak of the true God because he trusted in Him.
Today is the Lord’s Day. It is the first day of the week. It is Sunday. One way you can show that you are trusting in the true God is by going to His house today. He designed His house as the place of blessing in this uncertain world. His Word is what you need today and every day. A godly pastor does not even need to know what you have faced this week. He needs to do is know the true God and trust in Him. God guides the godly pastor to the text He wants him to speak from. He also guides him to use illustrations and other verses that will benefit the hearer. You cannot have that blessing if you do not go where God wants you to be. There is an emptiness that the world tries to fill with many different things. However, nothing will fill that void except truly trusting in the LORD.
We are praying for the salvation of souls today. We are praying for God’s perfect peace for those who read and listen to our messages. Only God can “keep” you in His perfect peace.
Pastor Bartel