Happy Monday! We are starting our devotionals this week with one from Joshua Clack, who is a part of our campus ministers team. Joshua serves as the Campus Missionary Intern for Chi Alpha, our Assemblies of God campus ministry. I am so excited for you to start your week off with this message. –Rev. Katherine Wright
Isaiah 26:3
“You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
Peace. It’s something we all desire within ourselves and outwardly, yet it can feel as if it easily slips from our grasp. When challenging circumstances around us start to settle, and we think
we’re finally free to rest and relax, suddenly something else comes up. Another frustration arises in our personal lives, another bill needs to be paid, another due date looms, and the list goes on. Have you experienced this? I know I have.
When Jesus was born and stepped onto earth, He embraced not just the joys of humanity but its hardships as well. He lost family members, He was misunderstood, His reputation was attacked, and He was sentenced to death as a criminal. Jesus had many reasons to live a life absent of peace and yet I doubt many of us would characterize His time on earth as such.
So what do we do when life doesn’t seem to have any intentions of making things easier for us, when circumstances don’t let up, and we’re faced with persistent challenges?
I believe we can learn from the statement in Isaiah 26:3, which provides a very straightforward insight for how we can walk in peace. It says, “you will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” It seems simple enough, or perhaps you’re thinking it’s too simplistic. That word “trust,” though, is profound: it implies that God cares about you, and He wants to help you when life seems full of darkness and does not look as if it will get much better. Perhaps this is among the truths that helped Jesus walk in deep peace in the midst of His pain, that His Father cared and was with Him in His trials. Do we believe that, or have we believed a lie that our problems are insignificant to the ruler of the universe?
It is said elsewhere to “give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). God wants to be invited into your troubles, into the things that hold you back from His peace. He didn’t sentence you to bear your burdens alone, and none are too small nor unworthy of His help. We aren’t promised a life without troubles when we begin following Jesus, but we are promised that there is Someone who will walk through them with us. I believe there is great peace in this truth.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you. Thank you for caring for the things that worry, challenge, and scare us. You allowed your Son to live among the joys and pains of humanity, and yet You were with Him throughout each moment. Help us to be aware of the same truth that you are indeed Immanuel, God with us, and that you are present in all parts of our lives. Please fill us with the peace that comes with walking with you and help us to lead others into it as well.
Amen