Kept!

Kept!

You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]. Isaiah 26:3 AMP

The Charge:

Every promise of God has a context, as well as conditions to be satisfied for the promise to take affect and be confirmed. It is a waste of time to just claim, and not be committed to the context and the conditions. The promise of God here is perfect peace. The world usually claim that there is no such thing as perfect peace but then, how can the world explain something it did not originate and can never understand? Each gives what it has, and the world, no matter what it gives you, cannot guarantee you peace because it does not have it. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, and His Father is the God of Peace, and he has promised to leave us His peace, represented by the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. He can make such a promise, because He has the peace in great abundance. 

However, there is a condition, and it is open to all to apply: he whose mind is steadfast. This is not a mind that can be easily swayed and deceived by what the world offers, but it is a mind that has come to the knowledge of who God is, and is growing daily in that knowledge and experience of God. This mind does not allow the weeds of the world to take root, and where there are distractions, it is quick to recognize such and take steps to uproot them by the power of the Presence of the Word of God. You cannot fight the devil's wiles which just your willpower alone; you need the tried and tested power of the peace of God in you, to help defeat the devil. Oh, the world has distractions, but I must make up my mind to focus on God. This is the minimum requirement for the dispensation of God's promise of peace.

The Conclusion:

The journey is long, and may pass through the most distressing circumstances, but the peace of God is the surest possession a man must have, if he will still stand well at the end of the journey. Nowhere does God promise us a life free of trials and tough times, but the confidence comes from the knowledge that a God who can predict the world and its weaknesses so correctly, also knows how best to work out his peace for all who trust Him. I have to fully depend on Him; it can't be half and half, where I am neither all in or all out. That is hypocrisy, and it is dangerous when you are dealing with a God of total and absolute knowledge, who cannot be deceived. He is looking for people who will trust Him completely; they are the ones in whom His glory will be made manifest and obvious. Can He count on us? God's time of favour is here.