Isaiah 26:3(NLT) says, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” God’s peace surpasses our understanding. It is beyond human reasoning, and Isaiah 26:3 informs us of God’s willingness and ability to keep us in His perfect peace. But we must also take notice that this extraordinary peace has a condition, and it is that our minds are fixed on God. What does it mean to have our minds fixed on Him? The mind is often referred to as the thinking center of the soul. Our Heavenly Father created the minds of humans with the capacity to mirror the mind of Christ. This means that we can operate in Christ to such a degree that our communion with Heavenly Father is constant and our feet are always firmly anchored in His strength and love. This is God’s goal for us.
Psalm 119:165(NLT) tells us, “Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.” When a person loves God’s instructions, it is because this person has assigned great value in his or her heart to what God says. Their faith in God is attached to this, and this individual is very concerned that he or she doesn’t step outside the boundaries of what God says is right and honorable. The peace of God that this verse is referring to is absolute. It encompasses our well-being, safety, health, and prosperity. It is the peace that translates to confidence in righteousness. It comes from trusting that living right before God affords all His rewards.
When we are lovers and doers of God’s Word, we don’t stumble, and it’s not because our confidence is in ourselves, but because our confidence is fully invested in God. When our confidence is not in God, our worlds crumble, and we busy ourselves always with the practice of picking up pieces that God has not ordained to fit into our life’s purpose.
Heavenly Father has made it clear that without His guidance and leadership, stumbling and worse will occur. What happens when we stumble? Life goes haywire, and we feel as though our troubles exceed our ability to handle them. This leads us to fear, worry, and anxiety. We begin to doubt that God will bless us, and that is precisely the devil’s aim. We are spiritual beings, and our Heavenly Father created us in such a way that we have an earth suit that houses our spirit being. God’s Will is that we experience earth through our relationship and communion with Him. Our earth suit is only good for earth dwelling, and once it returns to the substance of which it was made, which is dust, our spirit being returns to God. Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 The Message (MSG) says, “Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over. Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends. The body is put back in the same ground it came from. The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.”
As spiritual beings, our minds and hearts are the gatekeepers of our souls. Thoughts of God’s peace produce His peace in us, but thoughts of fear have the exact opposite effect. This is one of the reasons that God warns us in Proverbs 4:23 to guard our hearts above everything else, because they determine the issues of our lives. This lets us know that the real action in our lives happen internally, not externally as the world system wants us to believe. When we are consumed with outward appearances, we become focused on the temporary rather than the eternal, the flawed rather than the perfection of the Spirit through Christ. We end up denying our soul the nourishment it needs, because we’re too focused on what pleasures the flesh. This is a recipe for disaster.
Some might think, “What’s the harm in that? Why not focus on pleasuring the flesh” Well, God does not commune with our flesh. He communes with our spirits. Jesus Christ said in John 4:24(NLT), “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” Our focus should always be on God and building intimacy in our relationship with Him. If our focus is continually on our relationship and fellowship with God, Heavenly Father will take care of our physical needs. In Matthew 6:31, Jesus Christ commanded us not to worry about what we’re going to eat, drink, or wear. We’re not to focus our attention on lack, because that just breeds more of it. God is our Source and Sufficiency. He will take care of our needs. This is why Jesus Christ commands us in Matthew 6:33(NLT), “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
This is what it means to be kept by God. Our minds and hearts must be grounded in the reality of our identity in Christ. In other words, we ought to be thinking and speaking the excellency of God all the time. God will keep our feet from stumbling and falling to the degree that we invite Him to. This invitation is not so much of words but one of the heart. Our hearts must yearn for Him because we understand that He alone is worthy and deserving to be sought. Seeking Him first means that we know from whence cometh our help. Psalm 66:9 (NLT) tells us, “Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling.” God is our Rescue, Rock, and Fortress. We are safe in Him, and because of our faith and obedience, we can have confidence that He will hold us up and will not let us to fall. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“The Lord Will Not Let You Stumble”, written for 4theChristianman.com. Copyright© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.