I have been convicted lately of the need to be consistently memorizing and meditating on God’s Word. After watching John Piper eloquently recite several lengthy passages over the course of fifteen minutes as if he was reading a letter to his audience [watch here], I determined that I would stop what I was doing and respond in obedience to the Lord’s prompting. I pulled out a journal that my parents had given me for Christmas and prayed that the Lord would direct me to the passage I should choose as a starting point. I thought of a verse that I had heard someone discussing yesterday and turned to Isaiah 26 to read it for myself. At the beginning of the chapter, several verses above the verse I was looking for, I had marked two verses with stars. After reading them, I knew this is where I had to begin.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. -Isaiah 26:3-4

I have been struggling a lot lately with anxiety and trusting God. I have had several moments of prayer when I have asked God to remove the tightness in my chest and sick feeling that seems to attack me at the strangest of moments. I have repeatedly asked the Lord why I seem to be having such a difficult time when in my mind, and I truly believe in my heart as well, I acknowledge that He is in control and that He will bring to pass that which is for my good and for His glory. I have asked the Lord to show me how to trust Him as I ought. I have begged Him to give me the peace that passes all understanding and yet I still struggle almost daily.

When I read these words tonight the same questions came to mind again. This is a promise from God, an absolute truth—but something still felt disconnected in my heart. I decided to pull out my Strong’s Concordance (thank you Mr. Swain!) to dig a little deeper. What I found left me (temporarily) at a loss for words! All I could say was, “Wow.” This is what I discovered:

Keep – to guard, to protect
Perfect – to complete, accomplish
Peace –  (shalom) safe ie: well, happy, friendly; also welfare ie: health, prosperity, rest, safety as in “all is well”
Stayed – to lean upon or take hold of, bear up, establish, uphold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, stand fast, sustain
Trust/Trusteth – to hide for refuge, to be confident or sure, be bold, careless, put confidence, hope, make to trust
Forever – duration in the sense of advance or perpetuity, eternity, perpetually, world without end
Lord – the same, the sacred name of God meaning the Lord most vehement
Jehovah – the self-existent or eternal One
Everlasting – time out of mind (past or future), always, ancient, continuance, perpetual
Strength – a cliff, a rock or boulder, a refuge

Do you see what I see? My God, has promised to guard and protect me in complete safety as long as I lean upon and stand fast on Him. Why? Because by doing so it shows that I am hiding and placing my confidence not on myself, but in Him, my Refuge. He then commands that I continue to place my confidence and hope in Him forever. And why should I do this? Because He is the eternal, unchanging, self-existent God who is and has been—since time out of mind, both ancient and future—my rock, my refuge, my immovable object in which I can find shelter and protection, my hiding place.

What I love most about these verses is the word “stayed”. My struggle lately has been with my feelings. I don’t feel at peace. I feel worried, pressured, overwhelmed, responsible for things outside of my control, helpless and trapped in my circumstances. These verses are telling me that my feelings do not equal truth. God’s promises equal truth. “Stayed” implies a continual, conscious choice, a repeated action. I must constantly lean upon, take hold of and stand fast on the promises of God—not in my feelings, but in my mind. I must choose to think on God’s promises and to claim His truth as if what He has said has already come to pass. He WILL keep me protected and safe. He will be my refuge. I may not feel safe hiding behind the boulder of His protection while the storms of life rage around me, but I AM safe. He will not let anything happen to me that is not for my good. That safety may not look like I think it should, but I must surrender my ideas to Him, trusting that His will is best for me. Even if the storms of my life bring me to my death, He will never leave me and in my death is my ultimate release into eternal peace! What an amazing and powerful truth! Why should I be afraid of my circumstances or my future when the Ancient of Days holds me fast in His strength? I don’t have to worry. I can live my life well, happy and friendly. Don’t you love that word choice? I don’t have to send my co-workers running for cover when I feel like my life is out of control. I can smile and be friendly, showing both the Lord and others that my trust is in my Everlasting Strength.

Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.
-1 Peter 5:7