"Whose Mind Is Stayed On Thee"

Isaiah 26:3

The word "mind" refers not only to our intellect, but to the whole of ones inner being. If I am stayed upon Jehovah, I have peace. If I am straying from the Lord, I am wandering into misery.

PEACE IS GOD'S GIFT TO HIS ELECT. If you look to philosophers, psychologists, therapists, physicians, or preachers for peace, you will be disappointed. No man can give peace. And you cannot muster peace from within. The only way to obtain peace is to trust Christ, to put yourself into his hands.

GOD GIVES PEACE TO FAITH. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." Faith is not the cause of peace. Grace is. Faith is not the foundation of peace. Christ is. But faith is the channel through which peace comes to the heart. God gives us faith. Then he rewards faith with peace. Faith proclaims peace in the soul. And faith nurtures peace.

GOD KEEPS THOSE IN PEACE WHOSE MINDS ARE STAYED UPON HIM. To be stayed upon him is to be glued to and built upon him by faith. If you would enjoy peace, let all your thoughts be stayed upon your God. Never think of your sin without thinking of his forgiveness. Never think of your needs without thinking of his bounty. Never think of your past without thinking of his providence. Never think of your future without thinking of his promise. Let all your imaginations be stayed upon your God. We ought never imagine anything to be a possibility that is in anyway contrary to the goodness, grace, power and promise of God in Christ. If you would live in peace, let all your desires be stayed upon your God. Want nothing but what the Lord wills to give. Desire nothing but what God deems good. "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Set your heart upon Christ's redeeming work, his providential care and his everlasting promises, and you will obtain peace, the peace of God which "passeth all understanding"!

Don Fortner