Perfect Peace
Sharon W. Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." Isaiah 26:3-4 ESV
Our world longs for peace, yet it alludes nations. Our hearts are restless and many people reveal how “peace-less” they are by their critical and intolerant hearts. Almost every woman I know wrestles with her identity, asking, “Am I enough? What is my purpose? When will it be my turn?” There is often a low grade feeling that there has to be more, that I need to do and be more.
David longed for peace, but instead was a man of war. As a warrior king, he sometimes tried to find his way out of difficult battles using his own wisdom. When his own son betrayed him, David had every reason to plot, strike back, and depend on himself. Not this time. The anguish and sorrow was too great and David comes to the end of himself. In the middle of this betrayal, his soul waits in silence for God alone, who is his salvation. He has nowhere else to go. The use of the words “waits in silence” paints a picture of a man who is at peace and contented to wait for God to direct his path.
How was it possible for David to wait in confident expectation that the Lord had his back? What is the root of David’s peace, the grid through which he pushed these devastating circumstances? Four times in this short Psalm, David announces that his peace and rest are rooted in the God of salvation:
"For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken." Psalm 62:1, 2 ESV
He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God." Psalm 62:6-7 ESV
I love that David talks to himself. He reminds his soul that the reason he can trust God in the middle of the darkness is that God is his Rescue (salvation). David lived a raucous life, filled with war, repeatedly running for his life, and then giving in to lust and murder. He grieved the loss of his baby son born to Bathsheba. He had tried to save himself through human means and his efforts led him into even worse chaos. Yet in the middle of the war with his beloved son, Absalom, he reminds his soul that nothing else delivers as God delivers. Through it all, God had delivered him from past troubles. He trusts that God will deliver him from present temptation to fear and the devastation of betrayal.
David’s mind is stayed on God and as promised in Today’s Treasure, David experiences peace:
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." Isaiah 26:3-4 ESV
Do you need someone further along in life’s journey to call back and tell you from their own experience, God is sovereign and you can trust Him? This is a seasoned and older man, proclaiming that there is no other shelter. God alone is his Rescue (salvation). Hear him.
PRAYER
Lord, still our restless hearts. Show us how to experience the same kind of peace that David describes.
More free resources for help, hope, & healing:
Help & Hope podcasts is a friend stepping into the private pain of listeners, acting as a tourniquet to help stop the bleeding of a hemorrhaging heart. There are over 160 podcasts that cover a variety of topics. This week’s featured story is: One Wrong Decision Can Change Everything with Matt Maher
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Wednesday, 11 October 2023.
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