July
1, 2003
PERFECT
PEACE
"You
will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH,
the Lord, is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:3, 4, NKJV).
While
the world is progressing in wickedness, many feel the need
to come close to God in prayer. The Lord says, "Call
upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you
shall glorify Me" (Psalm 50:15). He invites us to come
to Him with our perplexities and sorrows, and our need for
His help. As soon as difficulties arise, we are to offer to
Him our sincere, earnest petitions. By our prayers we give
evidence of our strong confidence in God. The sense of our
need leads us to pray earnestly, and our heavenly Father is
moved by our supplications.
"The
children of God are not left alone and defenseless. Prayer
moves the arm of Omnipotence. Prayer has subdued kingdoms,
wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths
of lions, quenched the violence of fire" (Christ's Object
Lessons, p. 172).
Those
who take Christ at His word, and surrender their lives to
His keeping, will find great peace even in the midst of turmoil.
Their lives may seem a tangle, but as they commit themselves
to the Master Shepherd, He will bring out the pattern of life
and character that will be to His own glory. And that character
which expresses the glory and character of Christ here will
have entrance into the Paradise of God.
In the
midst of turmoil the night before His crucifixion, Jesus said
to His disciples, "Peace I leave
with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do
I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid" (John 15:27). David could say, "Though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil, for You are with me" (Psalm 23:4).
With
Him there is perfect peace, because with Him there is total
knowledge and everlasting strength.
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