God’s Promise of Peace
Isaiah 24-27
Let’s turn to Isaiah 26. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Isaiah 26 is on page 586 in the Bibles we are passing out.
This morning Isaiah wants us to understand that God promises to give us peace. God promises to work in our hearts so we feel no fear, no worry, no anxiety, no insecurity; just peace.
So take a look inside your heart: what are you feeling? You might say “nothing” – but dig deeper. I would guess that if we look into our hearts and poke around in there, almost all of us will find pockets of worry, fear, insecurity, anxiety.
Maybe it’s about a wayward child. Maybe it’s about a problem at work. Maybe it’s bills or other financial pressures. Maybe it’s a health issue. I’m sure that almost all of us have pockets of worry, fear, insecurity, anxiety.
But this morning Isaiah wants us to understand that God promises to give us peace. The God who really exists, the God who created you, the God who sent Jesus to die so you could be forgiven for all your sins – this God promises to give you peace.
That’s what Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 26:3 –
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
This verse, along with every other verse in Isaiah and the whole Old Testament – was written for us New Testament believers. But it was also originally written for the nation of Israel. At this point in the book of Isaiah the nation of Israel specially needed to hear that God will give her peace. So why did Israel need to hear this?
It’s because of what God had told them would happen in the immediate future. Let’s do a quick overview of what Isaiah has said so far.
In chapters 1-12, God said He would punish Israel for her sins by bringing the nation of Assyria to conquer her. He also said that later He would bring salvation to the whole earth through Israel. But the immediate future involves Assyria conquering Israel.
Then in chapters 13-23 God said that He would punish all the nations around Israel for their sins at specific times in their immediate futures; and He again mentions that He will punish Israel for her sins in the immediate future.
Then in chapter 24 God said that at the end of history He would pour out his wrath upon the entire world. But in chapter 25 God said that at the end of history – for those who surrender to Him in faith -- God will completely abolish death, He will host a lavish banquet for believers from all the nations, and He Himself will wipe tears from all faces.
Then in chapters 26-27 God gives to Israel words of comfort and encouragement. But why? Why would Israel need to hear comfort and encouragement? It’s because with all the good news you have heard about what God would do in the distant future, you have heard that in the immediate future God is going to raise up Assyria to conquer you.
To put this in perspective, imagine that a bona fide prophet today said that God was going to raise up China to conquer America as punishment for our sins. You’d feel some worry and fear.
So that’s why in Isaiah 26 and 27 Isaiah gives God’s people comfort and encouragement about what God promises to do for them.
What does God promise to do? It’s summarized in Isaiah 26:3 – read it again –
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
That is astonishing. God will keep you in perfect peace. He will give you perfect peace, and keep you in perfect peace. That word “perfect peace” is the Hebrew word “shalom” repeated twice – “Shalom, Shalom” -- which is a Hebrew way of stating perfection. That’s why the ESV translators translate this as “perfect peace.” God will give you and keep you in perfect peace.
Imagine perfect peace. Perfect peace is when you look at the present, and you look at the future, and you feel no fear, no anxiety, no insecurity. Just peace, perfect peace; perfect contentment, perfect well-being. That’s what God promises to give us.
Now you might think that’s just not possible. You might be so controlled by fear and so gripped by worry that you think it would be impossible for you to ever feel peace like that. But understand. This is not something you come up with. It’s not that you give yourself perfect peace and keep yourself in perfect peace. It’s that God gives you perfect peace and keeps you in perfect peace. And God is God – with infinite power. So no matter how much your heart is gripped with worry or fear – God promises to give you perfect peace and keep you in perfect peace.
Now since this verse was written by Isaiah who was directed to write this by God Himself – it should be enough. But let me show you two other Scriptures to strengthen the point even more.
Turn to John 14:27 – listen to what 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 hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
So when we are troubled and afraid, Jesus promises to give us His peace – His peace which is different than the so-called peace that the world gives to you.
Look also at Philippians 4:6-7 –
… do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
So when you are anxious God promises to give you His peace, God’s peace, God’s perfect peace.
Now with that in mind, let’s turn back to Isaiah 26:3, and let this sink in. God promises to give us His peace, His perfect peace. God can supernaturally change your heart so you are completely free from fear and worry and insecurity. But how? How does God do this?
How does God gives us His perfect peace? Now before we look at Isaiah 26:3 – think about how you usually go about trying to gain peace. Let’s say that there’s rumors of layoffs at your company, and you are suddenly gripped with fear and worry. What do you do to get peace?
I think lots of us try to get peace by escaping the problem. We escape into a movie or a novel or a 6-pack – and just try to get our mind off of the problem. But does that bring us peace? Not much, and not for long.
Others of us try to get peace by analyzing the problem. We think about whether or not layoffs are going to come, and what I might do to avoid being laid off, and what I would do if I was laid off. Now there’s nothing wrong with analyzing the problem. God calls us to analyze problems. But that’s not what will bring us peace.
Others of us try to get peace by being positive about the problem. We say things like: “it will be all right.” “God’s in control.” “I’ll be fine.” But we don’t think very deeply about what that means – and it doesn’t really bring us much peace.
So how does God give us His perfect peace? Read Isaiah 26:3 again --
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
It’s when we stay our minds – that is, fix our minds on God -- and trust in God, that God gives us perfect peace.
Now you might think – it can’t be that simple. But this is what the God of the universe says in His Word. It is that simple.
But don’t confuse simple with easy. It is not easy. It is war. Even though we have been saved, and have had the power of sin broken in us, that doesn’t mean we are completely free from sin. This side of heaven we still have indwelling sin. And that indwelling sin is still in our hearts pulling our minds away from God, so there is always something in us making us not want to fix our minds on God.
So this is not easy. It is war. But when we turn to God and call upon Him in Jesus’ name, asking Him to help us fix our minds on Him and trust Him – He will help us – every time.
But what is it about God that we fix our minds on? There’s a hint in that word “trust.” We are to trust in God. Now when you trust someone – there’s always a promise involved. You are trusting them to do what they have promised. So when we trust God, we are trusting His promises. So what we are to fix our minds upon, what we are to trust, is God’s promises.
So what promises will God use to give us peace? This book of full of God’s promises. And right here in chapter 26 Isaiah gives us three promises which – if we will trust them – will bring us perfect peace.
First, trust that God will completely satisfy you in Himself. When you are fearful or worried, it’s because there’s something you’ve been seeking for heart-satisfaction that you think might be taken away. You seek heart-satisfaction in your job – so losing your job brings fear; you seek heart-satisfaction in having a big stock portfolio – so a stock market crash brings worry. The reason we fear and worry is because of some heart-satisfaction we think we might lose.
But look at what Isaiah says in Isaiah 26:8-9 --
8 In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you [OK – here we are – we know that your judgment is coming upon our nation; so what do they do?]; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
Now why would his soul yearn for God and earnestly seek God? It’s because he knows that God Himself will completely satisfy him. So Isaiah is saying that he is trusting God to completely satisfy him in God Himself.
When you trust that God will completely satisfy you in Himself, you will be filled with peace. Picture it like this:
Let’s say you are really hungry. And over here is a French fry. One French fry. But let’s say that someone was threatening to take this French fry. How would you feel? Worried. Fearful. Insecure. Because the one thing you thought could bring you some satisfaction might be taken away.
But now what if over here you’ve got a pile of French fries? Now how would you feel about something threatening to take this French fry? It would not affect you. Because you’ve got plenty of French fries over here.
That’s how it is with God. Every fear and worry is because there’s some earthly thing you think will give you heart-satisfaction; but something is threatening to take away that earthly thing -- so you fear and worry. But when you fix your heart on God, and trust that God will completely satisfy you in Himself – it’s like someone brings you a whole bag of French fries. And you won’t worry about losing the one French fry.
But this will only work if you have experienced God as your all-satisfying treasure. This is one of the most crucial aspects of following Jesus Christ – experiencing the supremely satisfying joy that comes from knowing Him, beholding Him, worshiping Him. This might take some time, and prayer, and fighting the fight of faith. But as you come to Him through Jesus Christ, set your heart on who He is as revealed in God’s Word, He will completely and overflowingly satisfy your heart in Himself.
And once you taste the heart-satisfaction of knowing God – you will know by experience that God is your all-satisfying treasure – so you won’t need to fear the loss of anything else.
So trust that God will completely satisfy you in Himself. That’s one promise. But Isaiah gives us a second promise.
Second, trust that God will ordain peace for you. Look at the first half of 26:12 –
O LORD, you will ordain peace for us…
What this means is that because you are trusting Jesus Christ, you can know that the God who controls everything will orchestrate every event in your life to bring you perfect peace.
Not perfect peace in health or wealth; those do not give you perfect peace. But the perfect peace of experiencing more heart-satisfaction in knowing Him.
So you can be perfectly at peace about your job – because God is going to do whatever will bring you the most heart-satisfaction in Him. You can be perfectly at peace about your health – because God will do whatever will bring you the most heart-satisfaction in Him.
But there’s one more promise we need. Third, trust that God will do for you whatever you need. That’s the second half of v.12. Read the whole verse again --
O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works.
Isaiah says that everything God’s people do, God has actually done for them. Have God’s people been wise? It’s because God has given them wisdom. Have they been strong? It’s because God has given them strength. Which means that everything God’s people need to be and do – God will give to them.
As you look to the future you know that you will need to do many things. You will need to make wise decisions -- God promises to give you all the wisdom you need, as you earnestly seek Him in prayer (James 1:5). You will need to be strong in faith – God promises to give you all the strength you need through Jesus Christ (Phil 4:13). You will need to provide money; God promises to provide all the money you need as you seek Him first (Mat 6:33).
Now can you see how trusting God to fulfill these three promises will fill you with peace? When you trust that God will completely satisfy you in Himself, when you trust that God will ordain peace for you – orchestrate everything in your future to bring you the greatest heart satisfaction in God; when you trust that God will do for you whatever else you need – you will have perfect peace.
Questions?
Lab
Take your worry – go through this process.
Full heart-satisfaction is not found in what I’m worried about -- it’s found in God.
God will ordain whatever will bring me the most heart-satisfaction in Him.
God will give me everything else I need in the meantime.