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 Context and Focus:

Isaiah was given the privilege to see the glory of God in the temple. He came to see himself the way he truly was, and he received the cleaning and purification required to serve as an effective witness for God. Following this encounter, when the call of God came, and God was looking for a man to send, Isaiah was able to offer himself without hesitation. This is the first lesson here: for as many as seek to be used of and by God, or seek to have a personal encounter with the glory and power of God, the secret is in a full surrender to God. I cannot remain in control of my own life, and expect God to grant me all my wishes. I cannot pursue my own agenda, and expect that God will back me up, even when I am in clear disobedience to His will and word. I have to keep auditing my life's pursuits and priorities in light of God's express provisions and instructions. There is no room for assumptions or guesswork; I have to be sure, because God leaves no one in doubt as to what His Word says. If I am not sure, I have the standing promise of access to His throne, and I can ask whatever I desire. His promise is that as long as I ask in line with His will, He will grant it. Would I make the approach today?

The Message:

For as many as will make the approach, the promise in today's verse is the peace that only God can give. The world is unable to give what today's verse calls 'perfect peace', because it does not have it. You cannot give what you do not have. The reason why God is able to grant me perfect peace is because He is the God of peace, and Jesus is referred to as the Prince of peace. He calls Himself the I AM, and there is nothing I seek that He cannot give, as long as it is His nature. The world may give you a semblance of peace for a while, but it usually exacts a high price from you to secure that temporary peace. High fences and human soldiers may give you a sense of security, but as we have seen several times, these cannot guarantee you peace. Even if you are able to keep human elements out, can you use human resources to keep out the devil and his cohorts? The lesson here is the need to keep my heart fixed on God alone. The world has enough distractions to keep one occupied; it has to be a conscious and deliberate decision to fix your heart on God. That is the key to the perfect peace God has promised in the verse above. 

The Conclusion:

Read again the last part of the verse above: 'he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]'. God is not asking me to follow Him blindly, but to seek Him in hope. If I have tried the world's options and have found them to fail, why not try God? If I have exhausted all human options, why not try the supernatural? Trust is not a small matter; you stake your life and reputation on the person you trust, and that is why rebuilding trust after it is lost is quite hard and time-consuming. Trust is the currency that man must deal in, if he is to get God's attention. Trust then leads to dependence: if I trust God, I run to Him and stay in Him. No matter what goes on around me, my trust in God is not shaken. I would have proved Him over and over again, in order to arrive at the trust and confidence God wants me to have in Him. It cannot be like a light switch, put off and on when the conditions require it, but it is fixed and steadfast. How would God not move to defend such a person who trusts Him this way? Why would God not delight to keep such a person, so s/he becomes the evidence of God's grace and favour? Am i one? God's time of favour is here.