8-14-2022 What a Savior (from a service dated 2/28/1993)
"Isaiah wrote, 'Thou [Lord] will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee' (Isaiah 26:3)
If being busy was the criterion for accomplishment, I think most of us could say we've arrived. But, of course, that philosophy doesn't hold water. Busy people can be the most barren, unfulfilled, hurried people, and sometimes very unavailable to ministry. Men and women with duties can become horribly preoccupied with the pressure of performance and doing. Doing is no subsitute for being. Peace is one of those strange commodities: you rarely think about it until it's not around. Let me give you several sustaining words that make for peace.
A Loving Savior
Every person needs a Savior: Jesus came to produce in us the possibility of rising above the chore of merely existing. He came to usher us into the things prepared for those He's redeemed: John 6; Luke 2:11; Acts 4:12; II Timothy 1:10; Hebrews 5:9.
A Caring Lord
Because he knows the first from the last, and is Alpha and Omega, it's obvious that He's in the best position to lead our parade: Psalm 23:1; John 10:11,14; Hebrews 13:20; I Peter 2:25, 5:4
A Sustaining King
It's impossible to know the strength of a solid foundation until you're tried in the arena of affliction, and sustained. I Peter 5:10; Deuteronomy 33:27; Isaiah 40:28-31; Psalm 55:22; Hebrews 1:3
I'm thankful that in the midst of the demands the world places on us, coupled with the assignment given by King Jesus, the Lord of our lives... even with all of that, there's a great peace He [Jesus] promises we can experience in the midst of it all. The pressing duties don't have to press you.
Galatians 5:22 says that one great fruit of the Spirit is peace. In the midst of our busyness, stress, or weariness, there is a supplied answer. The settled peace I feel is supernatural in quality because it's supernatural in it's source.
Peace be unto you,
Ron Mehl